The Vienna New Year’s Ballet 2026

For more than 20 years, Creative Director Albert Kriemler and choreographer John Neumeier have shared a passion for fashion, music, and dance. Two decades later, they return to the place where it all began in 2006 — with the New Year’s Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic. For the ballet segments of the 2026 New Year’s Concert broadcast, Kriemler once again designed the costumes for the dancers of the Vienna State Ballet. This makes the 2026 New Year’s Concert ballet a remarkable anniversary of their artistic collaboration.

Inspired by the lightness of the waltz Roses from the South and the precise rhythm of the Diplomat Polka by Johann Strauss (son), Kriemler created pure, flowing silk georgette dresses and suits in velvet and wool double-face: garments that make movement, expression, and dance itself visible.

The Fabric of Dance

“I work with slits, pleated stripes, and play with silk georgette — a fabric I first held in my hands at 22 and have never really let go of since. I make ballet proposals only with my own fabrics. This one I’ve sourced for years from a weaver in Como.”

Two Decades of Creative Movement

Over the past twenty years, Albert Kriemler has designed costumes for some of John Neumeier’s most significant works, including Beethoven Project II, Turangalîla, and Joseph’s Legend / Vanished Festivals. Most recently, the two collaborated on Epilogue, Neumeier’s final work as Director of the Hamburg Ballet.