The Stagnant Development of Dress Code in 21st Century - An Outdated Tradition Needs Innovation

Kun Yan

Dress codes are universally recognized by stage performers, it is a regulation and requirement of semblable clothing of stage performers which provides visual harmonization and a sense of professionalism. However, some orchestras or ensembles have unreasonable requirements of dress codes so the superficial rules is higher than practical demands. Classical musicians have the most strict and tedious dress codes among stage performances, they have been required to wear restrictive all-black outfits for hundreds of years. In the 21st century, the value of dress codes has become a trending debate of classical musicians. I believe the tradition of dress codes for classical music should be innovated, musicians should be allowed to choose their outfits to express themselves as a part of stage identity and art making.

The conservatives have multiple supportive reasons to sustain the traditional dress codes. Indeed, it is hard to establish the reason why this seemingly harmless tradition needs to be changed, people may think, “it is just clothes!” However, dress codes are not clothes only, it represents the formality of the concert occasion, it also represented the status and identity of musicians as entertainment provider in the past. Unfortunately, the traditional dress code is not suitable to represent the present anymore. According to Chris Lloyd, a Berlin-based concert pianist, curator, author, “It stated that the tradition of black-tie formal wear in classical music harks back to the Victorian era, where manservants and butlers wore similar attire – that is, the musicians were dressed as the ‘help’” (Lloyd). In 21st century, the era which self-identity matters and humanitarianism prevails, the traditional dress code is outdated and needs to be developed.

Traditional dress codes should be modified because they represent the out of date system of patronage. Chris Lloyd indicates the relationship of classical music and elitism in his article Musicians - Enough With the Servility, Part 1: The Dress Code. He mentions that even though the public consider musicians a part of the upper class in society, the fact is that the traditional role of classical musicians are entertainment providers, in another word, servants. Black-tie formal wear dress code is the evidence of musicians’ status being as servants. Lloyd indicates that historically servility was required for many well-known composers in social and economic scenarios such as Haydn, Bach, Mozart, etc. However, it is not the same situation for musicians in 21st century. In my opinion, servility does exists, but the object is not the audiences nowadays. In the 18th century, only nobility could enjoy the music, therefore they were the patrons and the audience at the same time. When music was accessible for the general public, when the audience was no longer limited to nobility, the focus of musical performances began to shift to discover composer’s idea. My chamber coach back in graduate school once said, “we all are servants of the composer.” Carrying this idea in mind, it is unnecessary to maintain traditional dress code because it expresses neither the servility to the composer nor musicians’ self interpretation or stage identity.

The first way to approach the innovation of dress codes should be the comfort level, both physically and mentally. On her blog, Holly Mulcahy, concertmaster of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra and the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra, mentions her male colleague’s comments about how uncomfortable the formal suit is after a Halloween concert: “This is the only concert each year that I can play comfortably.” I have heard many complain as well from my friends or colleagues about how sweltering wearing black-tie or tuxedo during performance on stage. The nature of nervous of performers and musicians’ body movements cause sweating and faster heart beats. Also, stage lighting provides extra heat too. However, the truth is, we barely see musicians, especially male, wearing cool clothes such as sleeveless shirts on stage. We either see performers wearing formal ankle-length black dresses or all-black suits with a jacket, regardless of temperature or season. As the student of The Juilliard School, I cannot understand why the school requires ankles and insteps must not be shown directly even for who’s wearing heels. In order to satisfy this requirement, girls have to wear a silk stocking in addition to the pants. It is a traditional dress code for male to cover their ankles by wearing black socks to express formality. However, historically females are being excluded to go up to the stage until 20th century. It is formalistic to create a dress code for women which doesn’t exist in history and thoughtlessly copying what men usually wear. The feelings of the performers should not be neglected, but the reality is quite the opposite. The discomfort of men’s clothes and the lack of consideration of women’s outfits demonstrate how the traditional dress codes need to be modified.

Besides the discussion of how comfortable traditional dress codes are, there is another crucial argument, which regards the visual function of performer’s clothing. Consider a question: why are musicians always wearing black? Maddy Shaw Roberts, the digital managing editor of Classic FM, brings up the core argument that the function of all-black suits is to avoid drawing extra attention to musicians in her article Why the heck do musicians always perform in black: “orchestra players wear black, because the audience wants to pay attention to the music – not them. Many classical music lovers believe that there should be absolutely nothing to distract from the music, not even the performers themselves” (Roberts). However, I don’t think weakening musicians’ presence is helpful for music-making. As a violinist, unlike winds and brass players, string players get used to playing in a section and we often feel ourselves unimportant the farther back we sit. It is very hard to engage the section’s principle and conductor when seated close to the edge of the stage. To get uniformity, wearing all-black and blending into the ensemble might be enough; but to pursue real music, every single member of the ensemble needs to be responding spontaneously to what is happening. The New York String Orchestra, a seminar for high-standard young musicians which performs at Carnegie Hall yearly around Christmas Eve, is promoting the idea that every musician matters equally no matter the position they are sitting. In order to express this value, the NYSO made the distinctive decision to have no strict dress codes for young musicians; they can choose whatever color they want to wear on stage. Alexander Schneider, the founding leader of NYSO, believes that “music has to ‘come from your heart and your soul, or it has no meaning’” (NYSOS). Schneider changed the traditional dress code to inspire musicians’ stage identity. They are individuals who get to create music together as a whole. Music doesn’t comes from nowhere, it was created by musicians. The NYSO is a great example of how they can be valued rather than ignored.

In conclusion, a unified or harmonized clothing is indispensable for performing arts but the traditional dress code is replaceable as long as the the function to express formality has been preserved. I believe there is a lot of flexibility inside the material, color and style of clothes. It is no longer common for audiences to wear formal clothes to the concert in these decades, more and more soloists are willing to express their unique identity on stage such as Yujia Wang. Therefore, there is no reason to keep the antique dress code as same as the Victorian era. Musicians need to reclaim their independence as artists by choosing their own outfits and identity on stage and this starts from the orchestral dress code.

Bibliography

Lloyd , Chris. “Musicians - Enough With the Servility, Part 1: The Dress Code” Interlude, 4 Dec. 2020, https://interlude.hk/musicians-enough-with-the-servilitypart-1-the-dresscode/.

Mulcahy, Holly. “'Dress Codes Suck'...or Do They?” Neo Classical, 10 Nov. 2015, https://insidethearts.com/neoclassical/2007/11/dress-codes-suck-or-do-they/.

NYSOS. “New York String Orchestra Seminar.” New York String Orchestra Seminar Mannes School of Music, https://www.newschool.edu/mannes/new-york-stringorchestra-seminar/.

Roberts, Maddy Shaw. “Why the Heck Do Musicians Always Perform in Black?” Classic FM, 19 Mar. 2021, https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/musicians-blackconcert-dress/.