Justin Peck World Premiere and More Set for New York City Ballet Fall Fashion Gala
The event will take place on Thursday, October 1, 2026.
On Thursday, October 1, 2026, New York City Ballet will present its annual Fall Fashion Gala, once again celebrating choreography and costume design. The evening will feature a World Premiere by Jennifer Archibald, in her NYCB debut, with costumes by London-based designer Robert Wun, and lighting design to be announced. Alysa Pires will create her second commission for the Company with costumes designed by the Amsterdam-based fashion house Viktor&Rolf, and lighting by NYCB Resident Lighting Designer Mark Stanley. Newly added to the Fall Fashion Gala program will be a world premiere by NYCB Resident Choreographer Justin Peck, with costumes designed by the London-based Irish designer Simone Rocha, and lighting by Brandon Stirling Baker.
Since its inception in 2012, this annual celebration of ballet and fashion has raised more than $37 million for New York City Ballet. The Chairs for the 2026 event will include Founding Chair Sarah Jessica Parker, along with Visionary Chair Emily Blavatnik and Event Chairs Laila Blavatnik, Georgina Bloomberg, Carmen Busquets, Andy Cohen, Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy, Bridget Everett, Emma Gray, Julia Fox, Diane Kruger, Desi Lydic, Zanna and Mazdack Rassi, and Jordan Roth.
World Premiere by Jennifer Archibald
Costumes Designed by Robert Wun.
Jennifer Archibald is the founder and Artistic Director of the Arch Dance Company and Program Director of ArchCore40 Dance Intensives. Originally from Toronto, Canada, she is a graduate of The Ailey School and the Maggie Flanigan Studio, where she studied the Meisner Technique. In 2017, she made history as the first woman appointed Resident Choreographer in Cincinnati Ballet's 40-year history and currently serves as Artistic Associate.
Archibald has choreographed for the National Ballet of Canada, Ailey II, Atlanta Ballet, ProArte Danza, Ballet Memphis, BalletMet, Ballet West, Nashville Ballet, Charlotte Ballet, Smuin Contemporary Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, and The Washington Ballet, among others. She has worked commercially for Nike, MAC Cosmetics, and Tommy Hilfiger. In August, she will return to Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena to choreograph the opening for KCON, K-pop's annual conference. Archibald was a guest artist in residence for The Kennedy Center's Pathways to Performance program, and was the acting Movement Director for Michael Kahn's The Oresteia at the Shakespeare Theatre Company. She is the creator and choreographer of the acclaimed Maslow's Peak, a full-length work inspired by Lord of the Flies, produced by BalletX. Archibald is known for her “Documentary Ballets” rooted in historical events, such as Breaking'Bricks for Tulsa Ballet, about Tulsa's Black Wall Street; Sounds of the Sun for Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, about dancer and Holocaust hero Florence Waren; and Seven for St. Louis's MADCO Dance Company, about Olympian Jackie Joyner-Kersee. She holds an MFA in choreography, teaches master classes internationally, and has taught at the Yale School of Drama for more than a decade, where she currently serves as a Guest Acting Lecturer. She is also on the faculty of the University of South Florida School of Theatre and Dance.
Robert Wun is a London-based fashion label. Presenting storytelling collections through modern artistry and craftsmanship, exploring narratives of visibility and liberation in fashion. Born in Hong Kong, Wun was discovered by Joyce Boutique for his graduate collection at the London College of Fashion in 2012. After working for two years as a freelancer in the industry, Wun then launched his label in 2014, based in London, focused on custom order only collections, with a fresh take on shoes and accessories, alongside his unique tailoring and inspirations drawn from movies and the world of nature. The brand debuted its first runway show in Paris, in January 2023, with the support of Bruno Pavlovsky, President of Fashion at CHANEL. Wun became the first designer from Hong Kong to join the Haute Couture Calendar in its history, as a guest member of The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode. Wun was the Prix Spécial Winner of the ANDAM Fashion Awards 2022. He was also named one of the most influential individuals in the fashion industry by Business of Fashion 500, Vogue Business 100, and Tatler Asia; he was nominated by Wallpaper China as Designer of the Year, and also nominated for New Establishments Womenswear - The Fashion Awards 2023 by the British Fashion Council.
Wun has dressed and worked with artists like Beyoncé, Celine Dion, Lady Gaga, Adele, Cardi B, Florence Pugh, Cate Blanchett, Usher, and Idris Elba. The designer was also commissioned and has worked with The Royal Ballet in London, the Hunger Games movie franchise, and the renowned movie director Wong Kar Wai.
World Premiere by Justin Peck
Costumes Designed by Simone Rocha.
Justin Peck is the Resident Choreographer and Artistic Advisor of New York City Ballet. He has created more than 50 works for NYCB and other dance companies around the world, including the Paris Opéra Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Houston Ballet, L.A. Dance Project, and The Juilliard School. His works have also been performed by Dutch National Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Acosta Danza, and Hong Kong Ballet, among many other companies. A native of San Diego, California, Peck studied at California Ballet before enrolling at the School of American Ballet (SAB) in 2003. He joined NYCB as a dancer in 2007 and was promoted to Soloist in 2013. Peck first choreographed as a student at SAB in 2005.
He participated in a working session at the New York Choreographic Institute (NYCI), an affiliate of NYCB, in the fall of 2009, and received NYCI's first year-long choreographic residency in 2011. He was named NYCB's Resident Choreographer, the second in the Company's history, in July 2014, and was also appointed as Artistic Advisor in February 2019. Peck retired from dancing following NYCB's 2019 Spring Season.
He was the subject of the 2014 documentary Ballet 422, which followed him for two months as he created NYCB's 422nd original ballet, Paz de la Jolla. In 2015, his ballet Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes won the Bessie Award for Outstanding Production, and he is also the recipient of the 2018 Ted Arison Young Artist Award.
Peck is a three-time Tony Award winner for his choreography for the 2018 Broadway revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel; the 2024 production of Illinoise, based on Sufjan Stevens' album Illinois, which Peck also directed; and the 2025 production of Buena Vista Social Club, which he co-choreographed with Patricia Delgado. Peck also choreographed Steven Spielberg's award-winning film adaptation of West Side Story and Bradley Cooper's film Maestro.
Simone Rocha is a London-based fashion house established in 2010 by Irish designer Simone Rocha. Since its launch, the brand has established a distinctive design language, defined by a nuanced interplay of strength and delicacy, and a continuous exploration of femininity, craft, and materiality. The house operates across ready-to-wear womenswear and menswear, as well as accessories, with standalone stores in London, New York, and Taipei. Each space is designed in-house and reflects the brand's interdisciplinary approach, incorporating installation, sculpture, and curated artworks to create evolving environments that extend the narrative of the collections. Simone Rocha maintains a strong global presence through a network of leading retail partners, including Dover Street Market, and has been recognized for its contribution to fashion with multiple honors from the British Fashion Council including Independent British Brand of the year in 2021, as well as British Designer of the Year in 2016 and 2024. In October 2024, the brand published a monograph with Rizzoli, offering a unique insight into Rocha's world and creative evolution.
Collaboration forms a key part of the house's practice. Notable projects include being invited to be the guest designer for Jean Paul Gaultier's spring/summer 2024 Haute Couture collection, H&M designer collaboration in 2021, Moncler Genius, and adidas Originals. The latter represents Simone Rocha's most recent collaborative endeavor, first presented on the autumn/winter 2026 runway and marking the beginning of an ongoing long-term partnership.
The brand has also developed a series of ongoing dialogues with artists. These collaborations are rooted in genuine affinity and personal connection resulting in considered exchanges that resonate with the house's identity. Notable projects include collaborations with the Louise Bourgeois Estate (autumn/winter 2019), Genieve Figgis (spring/summer 2025), and Perry Ogden (autumn/winter 2026). Collections are presented biannually in London, and in June 2026 Rocha will host the brand's first standalone menswear show as a part of Pitti Uomo. Under Rocha's creative direction, Simone Rocha has evolved into an independent global fashion house with a singular and enduring identity.
Justin Peck's World Premiere is generously made possible by Emily Blavatnik/Blavatnik Family Foundation.
World Premiere by Alysa Pires
Costumes Designed by Viktor&Rolf.
Alysa Pires is a Canadian choreographer who was born and raised on the traditional territory of the W̱SÁNEĆ people near Victoria, B.C. Pires was the first Canadian woman to create a work for NYCB, making her Lincoln Center debut in May 2023 with Standard Deviation. She is also a three-time participant of the New York Choreographic Institute, an affiliate of NYCB.
Her works have been performed by companies such as the National Ballet of Canada (NBoC), Orlando Ballet, Alberta Ballet, Ballet Kelowna, Ballet Edmonton, Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami, and more. Pires was one of the 2025 recipients of BalletCollective's Commission for Developing Choreographers. Pires began working with the National Ballet of Canada as part of their Choreographic Workshop where she created her critically acclaimed work In Between. She represented the company at the 13th International Competition for the Erik Bruhn Prize and was then appointed Choreographic Associate by Karen Kain, a position that she held from 2019-2022. Other works for the NBoC include Frenzied Order, in a state of vanishing, and Skyward.
Her first commission for Ballet Kelowna, MAMBO, has become a signature work for the company, touring extensively across Canada and internationally. In 2022, Ballet Kelowna premiered the company's first full-length commission, Pires' lauded adaptation of Macbeth.
Pires was one of the 2017 winners of Northwest Dance Project's International Choreographic Competition. She is an Honours BFA graduate from Toronto Metropolitan University and was the recipient of the 2015 Jack McAllister Award, which recognizes alumni accomplishment.
Viktor&Rolf is an Amsterdam based fashion house founded in 1993 by Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren, known for blending art and fashion through bold, conceptual designs. For over 30 years, it has challenged convention with sculptural couture, poetic contrasts, and a distinct creative voice always uniting art and fashion. Beyond couture, it has expanded into ready to wear, eyewear, bridalwear, and fragrances. The designers met while studying at ArtEZ in Arnhem, where an early artistic collaboration laid the foundation for a practice that would redefine the boundaries of fashion. From the very beginning, Viktor&Rolf approached fashion as a form of expression. This spirit of experimentation introduced a sense of theatricality that has remained central to the house, with shows often unfolding as carefully staged performances that elevate garments into narrative experiences.
Their work has been exhibited in leading cultural institutions including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Barbican, the Kyoto Costume Institute, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, and many more, reinforcing its position at the intersection of fashion and art. The collections are characterized by contrasts, concept and technique, intellect and humor, restraint and excess, creating designs that transcend trends and evoke both emotion and reflection.
At the core of Viktor&Rolf's practice lies a philosophy often described as “construction as play,” where garments become statements that challenge perception and invite interpretation. Each creation is conceived not simply as clothing, but as a proposition, transforming fashion into a medium that communicates, questions, and inspires imagination while remaining true to the house's singular and enduring vision.
