Last week, I stumbled upon an amazing exhibit via Canadian Art Junkie. To celebrate its 60th anniversary, the National Ballet of Canada is presenting “The Tutu Project,” a display of 60 original tutus. Some are iconic costumes from renowned ballets; others are whimsical creations from artists, ballet fans and even the dancers, themselves. The exhibit is running from July 11 through September 2 at Toronto’s Design Exchange.

While I’d love to see it live, that’s probably not happening. But on the upside, the National Ballet has a very nice online gallery showcasing many of the tutus, as well as photos of ballerinas wearing them in action:

Kitri, Act III from Don Quixote. Designed by Desmond Heeley. Photo by Setareh Sarmadi.

Gizella Witkowsky in Don Quixote. Photo by Barry Gray.

Wilis from Giselle. Designed by Desmond Heeley. Photo by Setareh Sarmadi.

Artists of the Ballet in Giselle (2009). Photo by Bruce Zinger.

The Firebird. Designed by Santo Loquasto. Photo by Setareh Sarmadi.

Jennifer Fournier in The Firebird (2006). Photo by Dale Dong.

The tutus created for the exhibit are just as gorgeous as the ones designed for the stage. Two of my favorites:

Designed and built by Krane Design. Selected by the Fashion Design Council of Canada. Photo by Setareh Sarmadi.

Designed and built by Louise Yu. National Open-call for Artists selection. Photo by Setareh Sarmadi.

What’s your favorite ballet costume? Most recently, I was pretty dazzled by the new costumes City Ballet wore for “Symphony in C” this season.

(Photos via the National Ballet’s Tutu Project; and thanks to BoomerOntario for first posting about this at Canadian Art Junkie)