Fashion Brands are Turning the TikTok-Fueled ‘Balletcore’ Trend into Sales

Small business takeaway:

• The TikTok-fueled balletcore fashion trend is moving from niche aesthetic to cross-market revenue play, with luxury labels, athletic brands, and comfort footwear makers translating dancewear into shoes, apparel, and even wellness-geared products. The broader takeaway: trends scale when brands sell the feeling behind them, not just the look; collaborations with complementary partners can stretch demand across categories and price points; and consumers are rewarding products that simplify style, identity, function, and cultural momentum without feeling like costume.

Since #balletcore started trending on TikTok in 2022, brands from Miu Miu to Nike have embraced the fashion aesthetic inspired by ballet performers’ clothing and costumes: tulle skirts, leggings, wrap cardigans, ballet flats, and bodysuits.

Four years on and the trend spans the luxury fashion market and mass retail and activewear, and it’s reviving a long-time relationship between fashion and ballet, one that’s moved from Dior’s couture tutus in the 1940s to the leotards, tights, and leg warmers of the studio floor becoming everyday activewear staples for the average consumer. 

Louis Vuitton’s sneakerina and Adidas’ Bad Bunny Ballerina shoes took off last summer after searches for “ballet sneakers” rose 1,300% during the first quarter of 2025 on fashion shopping platform Lyst. The Royal Ballet collaborated with global fashion brand Reiss on a 60-piece clothing collection inspired by the “artistry, grace, and costumes of The Royal Ballet.” The collection includes tutu-inspired tulle skirts, corsetry, and satin ribbon details inspired by ballet shoes.

Meanwhile, 2026 has been flagged by fashion publications as the year of the ballet-wrap cardigan as consumer interest in balletcore continues to hold strong. Global search interest in “balletcore” rose approximately 550% year-over-year as of mid-August 2026, according to a Google Trends analysis of worldwide web search data.

Sales of ballet flats alone grew 16% in dollar sales in the United States in the 12 months ending June 2026, according to Circana. “I think there is more runway for the silhouette in the next year or two,” said Beth Goldstein, Footwear and Accessories Industry Advisor at Circana, citing success across price points. “Fashion and athletic continue to blur,” she added.

Here are a few brands that are monetizing the balletcore trend, with implicit lessons on leveraging complementary collaborations to coax newfound growth, building B2C and B2B sales to generate multiple revenue streams, and capturing the essence of a fashion trend to drive business.

Forme on building a customer following: ‘What resonates with consumers is not necessarily ballet itself, but what ballet represents: grace, strength, body awareness, confidence, and elegant movement’

Forme saw early adoption for its Power+ Bra—marketed to support proper posture—with dancers because of the physical demands ballet places on alignment, breathing, and recovery. But “much of our recent growth has come from women who have never practiced ballet,” said Forme Science Founder, Chairman, and CEO Stephen Liu.

“What resonates with consumers is not necessarily ballet itself, but what ballet represents: grace, strength, body awareness, confidence, and elegant movement,” Liu said. “As balletcore has become more mainstream, many women are seeking products associated with those qualities.”

Taylor Swift helped popularize Forme when she wore the bra while rehearsing for her Eras Tour, and the brand has seen growth across a wide range of consumers, including fitness enthusiasts, athletes, active mothers, and women during pregnancy and postpartum recovery, added Liu. It’s grown into an eight-figure business, experiencing consistent year-over-year growth driven by strong direct-to-consumer demand, healthcare professional referrals, corporate wellness partnerships, and expanding relationships across women's health, sports, recovery, and longevity communities. 

Recent milestones include becoming the Official Posture & Recovery Partner of the Major League Baseball Players Association, partnerships with leading healthcare institutions, and continued expansion into wellness, recovery, and longevity markets.

[Read more: Franchises Leverage Diverse Revenue Streams to Rev Up Sales and Weather Ups and Downs]

Birkenstock: Betting on collaborations that stoke balletcore buzz while the going is good, as ‘this will be the trend for the next three to five years’

This summer, Birkenstock launched a limited-edition collaboration with French ballet and dance house Repetto, creating a new high-end collection through Birkenstock 1774—the brand’s division dedicated to specialty materials and designer collaborations. The collaboration meshes Birkenstock’s orthopedic cork-latex footbeds with dance-inspired designs like ribbons and bows and Repetto’s printed leather. 

The companies set a price point of roughly $330 to $530 for ballet-inspired shoes from the collection, and Birkenstock CEO Oliver Reichert said during an earnings call that the partnership would help to “capture the increasing global demand for ballerina.”

The collaboration, Reichert added, was part of Birkenstock’s strategy to keep consumers’ attention amid new shoe and sandal releases in the coming years. “Don’t forget this,” Reichert said. “This will be the trend for the next three to five years. The ballerinas, for ladies.”

Adidas and Crocs have leaned into the balletcore trend with success, too. Adidas now features over 100 sneakers in its dedicated balletcore section online. 

Last year, the brand recruited two of its most celebrated collaborators, Caroline Hu and Edison Chen’s CLOT, to work on three pairs of slim sneakers with ballet slipper-style elastic forefoot straps, replacing the tongues.

Crocs CEO Andrew Rees said on the company’s second quarter 2026 earnings call that its ballet flat “continues to see notable sellouts globally,” and he called the shoe “another opportunity to further diversify.”

Meanwhile, a Nike and SKIMS partnership launched a Spring 2026 collection inspired by the modern ballerina with a feminine aesthetic and the new Rift Satin shoe with a satin ballet-like strap. 

To market the NikeSKIMS collection, which includes wrap skirts and wide-legged pants, the brands launched a campaign featuring dancer, singer, and actress LISA of Blackpink. Nike and SKIMS shot a campaign film in Paris that features LISA and professional ballerinas and dancers, which has since drawn millions of views.

NikeSKIMS is also positioning the collection as “a head-to-toe, complete system of dress” designed to take the guesswork out of putting together an outfit.

The line leans into shoppers seeking a respite from decision fatigue. As consumers navigate an overstimulating, tech-saturated environment, they are gravitating toward products and experiences, including fashion, that reduce their cognitive load, according to the Future Consumer 2028 report from trend forecasting firm WGSN. “Above all for this cohort,” the report said, “fashion must restore energy rather than extract it—returning a sense of balance, comfort and quiet confidence in place of noise and excess.”

Barbara Thau contributed to this story.

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