Elizaveta Porodina's Ballerinas in Carolina Herrera by Wes Gordon for Vanity Fair

Misa Kuranaga by Elizaveta Porodina for Vanity Fair Magazine. Misa Kuranga is a Japanese ballerina currently a principal dancer at the San Francisco Ballet.

Vanity Fair Magazine’s November 2020 issue shares six global ballerinas in motion, creating a sensual color explosion of Carolina Herrera by Wes Gordon’s FW2020 collection. German-based photographer and visual artist Elizaveta Porodina collaborated with Gordon to create the experimental images.

“[They feel] very poetic, and fresh, and colorful, and alive,” Gordon said of the final photographs, “all the attributes I aspire to for Herrera.” The ballerinas are caught in sweeps of movement, somewhat abstracted by the layers of equipment Porodina uses in her newly created technique. “[I] started to develop this technique, piling up equipment completely making the living room full of stuff,” said Porodina. And once Gordon had given her his blessing to create pictures that “are next level and that they are an explosion of colors,” she said, “it made me look for even more equipment, even more levels of abstraction.”

Ako Kondo by Elizaveta Porodina for Vanity Fair Magazine. Ako Kondo is a Japanese ballerina currently a principal artist at The Australian Ballet.

“I am absolutely in awe of Elizaveta’s ability to capture images like this over zoom and across continents and time zones,” said Gordon. “As we all know, so much of the strength of a spectacular image has to do with the relationship between the photographer and the subject and that she is able to create that with cameras and computers, 15 hours apart is amazing.” Porodina attributes the project’s success to trust between herself and the subjects. “I have a sincere authentic admiration for my subjects,” she said. “I just see these Zoom photos as a reflection of pure will, not just from my side but from the side of my collaborators.”

Read on about the exquisite fashion shoot narrated by Daisy Shaw-Ellis for Vanity Fair Magazine.

Natasha Diamond by Elizaveta Porodina for Vanity Fair Magazine. Natasha Diamond-Walker is an internationally recognized dancer, actress, and soloist with the Martha Graham Dance Company.

Claudia Monja by Elizaveta Porodina for Vanity Fair Magazine. Claudia Monja is a principal dancer with the Joburg Ballet

Ines McIntosh by Elizaveta Porodina for Vanity Fair Magazine. Ines McIntosh is a dancer with the Paris Opera Ballet.

Wendy Whelan by Elizaveta Porodina for Vanity Fair Magazine. American ballet dancer Wendy Whelan was a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. Whelan has also been an influential guest artist with Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company.