High culture meets haute couture

All eyes were on Jean-Yves Thibaudet when the pianist walked onto the Kennedy Center stage earlier this season.

It wasn’t simply because the audience wanted to hear the artist’s sensitive interpretations of fellow Frenchmen Debussy and Messiaen. No, one couldn’t help but stare at Mr. Thibaudet because of how he looked.

Call it classical chic.

The pianist is one of a growing number of classical musicians who are partnering with fashion designers. They are part of a new generation of image-conscious concert artists who are bringing style, attitude and sex appeal to what was long viewed as a somewhat fusty vocation.

On tour, Mr. Thibaudet exclusively wears the designs of Vivienne Westwood, one of the most creative — some say outlandish — of couturiers. For his Kennedy Center appearance, sponsored by the Washington Performing Arts Society, he wore an ensemble that, if you looked very closely, resembled a tuxedo. There was nothing traditional about Mr. Thibaudet’s outfit, however, which featured close-fitting pants with a distinctive stripe down the side and a tie something like a bolo, but much more modern.

The first line of the press release for his appearance made a note of his “fashionable performance ensembles.”

“It’s just combining one beautiful thing with another,” says Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt of the convergence of high culture and haute couture. Miss Hewitt played in Baltimore last year, and the way she looked was almost as striking as her playing. The elegant pianist wore a stunning teal gown.

Miss Hewitt soon begins a Bach world tour, playing the complete Well-Tempered Clavier in well over 100 performances in 25 countries. For the first time, she’ll have a design sponsor, Richard Robinson. “I just want to give him some worldwide publicity,” she says of choosing a fellow Canadian.

While she enjoys dressing up, she does have some words of caution for beginning artists. “A lot of the young kids are pushed out of their cocoon, and an image is forced upon them,” she says. “It’s a little bit depressing when young people are subjected to obviously fabricated publicity campaigns.”

Lisa Kaplan, pianist for the hip contemporary music ensemble Eighth Blackbird, says her performance garb reflects her own personality, rather than a marketer’s.

“Whether it’s a short, ruched black dress with maroon fishnets and boots, or a sleek, black tank with camouflage pants detailed at the edges in silk, I’d say that I definitely put a lot of thought into my onstage persona,” she says. “I view my performance clothes more like costumes that help put me in the right frame of mind for our concerts.”

Clothing is just part of the package in an industry trying to reach new listeners. “Classical musicians are in the entertainment business,” Miss Kaplan says. “Wardrobe, lighting, sound — we have to think about all of these factors, especially if classical music has any hope of luring young people into their concert halls.”

Albert Imperato, with 20 years in the business, has watched classical become more chic. He is founding partner of 21C Media Group, a New York classical music marketing firm.

“Artists are more comfortable saying, ‘I like a certain look’ or ‘A certain style makes me comfortable,’ without it casting any aspersions on the seriousness of their talent,” he says.

Not that there aren’t holdouts, mind you. “Artists who don’t care, don’t care in a big way,” Mr. Imperato adds.

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