Invited by CHANEL to attend the Fall Winter 26 Haute Couture show, Dakota-born Artistic Director of The Australian Ballet, David Hallberg moved through Paris with the ease of someone who knows its rhythm. Years earlier, at the age of 17, during a year of study in the city, he had been dismissed by the Paris Opera Ballet as merely “the American” – only to return and be chosen by the very same institution to perform in Sleeping Beauty, a role that later lead to his desired position in the American Theatre Ballet.
Reflecting on how Paris has shaped him over the years, Hallberg draws a contrast between the city and others he’s known. Unlike cities like New York, the people in Paris aren’t putting on a show. "I can appreciate it and feel more at ease with who I am in Paris, because everyone just does their own thing," he tells RUSSH. Further expressing his admiration for the city, he adds, "It's in its best form; the city has an effortless blend of history and modernity. And the architectural additions in the last 60 years have been really bold; La Defence, Pompidou, Musee Monde Arabe..."
But of course, returning to the city's roots – such as watching the Hofesh Shechter at Opéra Garnier in the Palais Garnier – was about feeling rooted in a cultural continuum that stretched back centuries, as well as engaging with something radically present. This tension between reflecting on what once was and finding a pulse in what's happening now is something Paris balances perfectly.
Hallberg, witnessing his very first CHANEL Haute Couture show for the FW26 season, shared his first impression of the collection with RUSSH. "I was really struck by the movement of these tiny feathers on the garments. And of course, I'm bringing a lens of dance into it, but I'm always struck by the movement of clothing because of the movement of my art form." He added, "And the devil is in the details."
The Haute Couture line is a testament to a French House's historic atelier, and the enduring craftsmanship and influence it has had on fashion at-large. Hallberg encapsulated this seamlessly: "To mix something as classic and as traditional and as historic as Haute Couture with a modern context, I think is a perfect balance."
He also noticed the restraint in the staging, a kind of artistic clarity he relates to deeply. "It's like when we have a ballet commission for us, like Oscar, for instance. We have these sets commissioned for the work and to see the restraint and the mood to balance with the clothes. I mean, it's just all a bespoke experience. And I think that's kind of what I want audiences to experience with the company, to come in and see something that is iconically Australia. And in this space, the show was iconically CHANEL."
Visits to spaces that hold stories was a theme for the day. After the show, a visit into Gabrielle Chanel’s own apartment on Rue Cambon, where Hallberg felt something unexpected. "You stepped into the personal world of Gabrielle Chanel; and not the work world just outside of it." Walking around her apartment, Hallberg took in all the details. "The dining table was small, but to imagine the friends and artists that gathered around it, the dancers, musicians, painters..."
Reflecting on his week in "the city that glows", one of the most poignant moments of Hallberg's trip was a visit to 7L, Karl Lagerfeld’s private library. "As a book nerd, it was thrilling to see such an obsessive collector." Hallberg also describes walking through the Louvre at dawn with his partner, as another fond memory.
As the week with CHANEL came to a close, Hallberg departed Paris rather enlightened. Carried with him was a collection of moments, memories, but more, a reaffirmation of how deeply art and place, heritage and modernity can pulse as one. In Paris, for Hallberg, it was a reminder that creativity doesn’t always need a spotlight. Sometimes, it breathes in restraint or elegance that is rather still. And in that stillness, he rediscovered the kind of artistry that lasts.
