English National Ballet will take over one of London’s most glorious outdoor settings, The Orangery, Kensington Palace, for an evening of breathtaking ballet, fabulous fashion and fundraising.

The Company is placing itself firmly in London’s summer social calendar with an event inspired by this season’s obsession with all things ballet.

English National Ballet’s Summer Party, being held next month, will be an evening of live music and performances from star dancers on the terrace while being entertained by a jazz orchestra with music from the Company’s hit Summer show Strictly Gershwin.

An evening of entertainment will follow with performances from most popular repertoire giving guests a truly memorable ballet experience, a spokesman for the event organisers said.

As part of the event English National Ballet has invited nine top fashion designers to create tutus exclusively for the Summer Party to auction live on the night.

“We are delighted to have such designers working with us on this project which is a first for English National Ballet, like Erdem, Agent Provocateur, Giles Deacon, Julien Macdonald, Roksanda IlIncic, House of Worth, Kinder Aggugini, Bruce Oldfield and Moschino. We can also reveal that Christian Louboutin and Beatrix Ong will design shoes for the auction. Each designer has chosen a dancer from the Company to inspire their creation – on the night of the party the dancers will model the tutus in a catwalk show, before they go on display for guests to bid.

English National Ballet began speaking to designers in February this year, and has been astounded by the support and excitement from the fashion houses. Creative initiatives like this form an integral part of the Company’s fundraising activity; helping to sustain the vibrant life of English National Ballet, supporting our renowned Learning and outreach work and enabling us to deliver world-class ballet to the nation, remarked the spokesman.

Nadja Swarovski, vice president of International Communications at Swarovski, supporter of English National Ballet and chair of the Summer Party event committee said: “English National Ballet is very close to my heart, and I am always thrilled to see their beautiful productions on stage, performed by such a talented group of dancers. This auction is an original way of bringing together the enormous popularity of ballet and the glamour of the fashion world, whilst creating original pieces of couture. I applaud this innovative idea, and look forward to a fabulous evening in June.”