Acclaimed New Zealand designer Rory William Docherty has unveiled three one-off couture coats, created in collaboration with the Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB). Each bespoke silk organza piece takes inspiration from Chrysalis, the world-premiere ballet choreographed by Shaun James Kelly, for which Docherty designed the original stage costumes.
Crafted by the RNZB’s renowned costume department, the coats are priced at $4495 with profits from the sales to be donated directly to the ballet company.
The concept originated from a painting Docherty created for Chrysalis, first used to design the dancers’ transformative leotards.
“On seeing the print in large scale on fabric, and the stunning translucent organza coats we’d made for stage, I thought – what if the coats were also in the print?” says Docherty. “It felt like a beautiful summation of the piece and our collaboration.”
Unlike the stage versions, built for the rigours of performance, these collector’s pieces are crafted from pure silk organza with couture finishing—hand-cut, French-seamed, and treated as singular works of art.
“I believe in creating pieces that inspire and uplift the wearer – works that will be cherished for a lifetime,” Docherty adds. “These coats are original art, fashion and ballet history, plus they have a philanthropic feel-good factor.”
