The ballet of Daphnis and Chloë was first planned by Mikhail Fokine in 1904, but not staged until 1912. It is based on a 4th-century tale by Longus. The temptress Likenion tries to seduce the shepherd Daphnis, but he rejects her and remains true to his lover, Chloë. The production period was troubled, with disagreements between Diaghilev and Fokine, and the ballet had to be postponed while its composer, Ravel, completed the complex score which required large musical resources, including a choir. Despite the difficulties it was well received at its opening in Paris and was revived for three performances in 1913 and taken to London in 1914. Margarita Frohman danced the role of Likenion in 1912, and this design appears to be a reworking of the costume for a different dancer in 1913.

In the period following Diaghilev’s break with Russia, Daphnis and Chloe was a pointer to the future. It was one of Diaghilev’s first commissions from a European composer and thus one of the first indications that the Diaghilev Ballet, while maintaining its essential ‘Russianness’ would draw on European artists for inspiration and collaboration. This design shows the importance and influence of the work of Léon Bakst (1866-1924) for the innovative Diaghilev Ballets Russes productions in Paris during this period. The work of the company established that every aspect of a ballet – choreography, music, design, lighting, make-up – was of equal importance and that the whole stage was seen as a work of art. Bakst looked to a wide range of sources of decorative design to create fresh theatrical effects, as is demonstrated by this costume design influenced by classical Greek art and his own love of Greece itself.