Sleek, black gondolas glide along the foggy canals of Venice, conveying passengers, wearing sumptuous period costumes adorned with lace and crystals. They alight and ascend the stone steps to enter into the 15th-century Palazzo Pisani Moretta. Awaiting them is a world of pure fantasy and escapism created by Antonia Sautter, the organiser of Venice's carnival highlight, Il Ballo del Doge.
The mastermind and driving force behind the ball is the Venetian costume-maker and entrepreneur Antonia Sautter. "I work year round in my workshop creating the 400-plus costumes which will be worn at the ball," she explains, as she shows off some of her colourful sketches which are later transformed into elaborate costumes for the guests and entertainers. They include huge crinolines, panniers, metres of silk and taffeta, and bejewelled bodices. Each garment is unique and decorated strictly by hand with lace, ribbons, embroidery and glass crystals. With its high profile, Il Ballo del Doge attracts European, Middle Eastern and Asian nobility, besides international glitterati. "Many of the guests commission personalised costumes from me," Sautter reveals. "That often involves meetings to discuss what character they would like to be dressed as, fabrics, embellishments and the budget."
While most personalised costumes will involve thousands of euros to produce, Sautter remembers one special dress which is perhaps her par de résistance and may never be repeated. "My most elaborate costume, and one which proved a real challenge to create, was commissioned by an American industrialist's wife. It included more than 200 diamonds sewn onto the bodice," she confides.
Regular visitors to Sautter's workroom are Italian husband and wife Bruno and Cleo Houghton. "We discovered Il Ballo del Doge four years ago and are now regulars," explains Cleo, looking dazzling in an electric blue 18th-century French pompadour creation by Sautter. "As soon as you step through the doors, it's as if you pass into another dimension," adds Bruno, who looks dashing in a French-styled blue velvet coat, breeches, a feathered, tri-cornered hat and sequinned mask, which were created to compliment his wife's finery.
Wildly imaginative
Sautter began her now famous costumed balls 18 years ago, and they have proved immensely popular. "Each is unique and different from the others," she explains. "I always choose a theme and work around that to produce the costumes, music, show and decorations." Previous years have seen the palazzo become the scene for Seven Dreams and Seven Sins, Golden Passion and Magic of the Oriental.
For the 2012 edition of Il Ballo del Doge, Sautter will present a new collection of spectacular and unforgettable costumes inspired by the ball's theme of Queens. "I want to pay tribute to powerful women throughout history and right up to the present," she says. "I've been inspired by great figures such as England's Queen Elizabeth I, Marie Antoinette, Amazonian and Egyptian queens, and mythical personalities such as Mozart's Queen of the Night." With this year's theme of female royalty, Sautter has let her imagination run wild with extravagant detailing and wigs. "My costume for Cleopatra will transform the wearer into a sparkling, bejewelled and sequinned goddess," she explains with obvious pride.
Sautter's passion for wearing and making costumes began when she was just a little girl. "I remember looking through picture books with my mother and being mesmerised by the images of Louis XIV or the marvellous 19th-century Viennese ball gowns," she reminisces. "I immediately wanted to make these clothes and wear them too." She began making her own carnival costumes as soon as she could manage a sewing machine and has never stopped.
When Sautter began producing this event she knew she needed an exceptional setting and was overjoyed when the Palazzo Pisani Moretta on the Grand Canal became available. For one night, the building is transformed into a magical playground for those lucky enough to have a ticket. The interior of this 18th-century, frescoed palazzo is illuminated by thousands of candles providing an ethereal atmosphere for the costumed guests, who come from as far away as Japan, China and Australia.
Delicate fantasies
Those who can't get a ticket for this year's Il Ballo del Doge will be pleased to hear that there are other balls almost every night around Venice from February 11-21, including, due to popular demand, The Best of Il Ballo del Doge, on February 11. "We had to turn so many people away last year," Sautter explains, "that I realised that I needed to have a second ball." The Best of Il Ballo del Doge will revisit the most impressive themes of the past years.
"Fantasies are delicate and require considerable input from all those involved to make them blossom," Sautter explains. She readily puts in the imagination, hard work and time to give Il Ballo del Doge 99 per cent of its magic. "The rest is up to the guests, for when the first rays of sun hit the building the next day, it all vanishes until the following year."
— Scott Adams is a Madrid-based freelance writer
The grand event
- Il Ballo del Doge will take place on February 18. The price for rental varies depending on the choice of costume and ranges from €20,000 (Dh93,695) for 24 hours to more than €150,000 (Dh702,720).
For more information write to info@ballodeldoge.com or log on to www.ilballodeldoge.com
FLY... Emirates
From Dubai for Dh3,810. Or try Qatar Airways from Dubai (via Doha) for Dh3,270. Or try Etihad Airlines from Abu Dhabi for Dh3,370.
— Information courtesy the Holiday Lounge by Dnata. Ph: 04 3492886
venice, italy
