In Ballet Circles, Nobody Messes With Matera’s Tutus : Arts: The designer, who created Hillary Rodham Clinton’s inaugural gown, blends tradition, innovation.

The diffuse blue light silhouettes the ballerina, framing her pirouette in an ethereal halo.

She is the embodiment of grace, floating on a cloud of tulle. Most see only her fluid movements, not the intricate and delicate beauty of the white satin tutu hugging her sleek body.

But Barbara Matera knows better.

Renowned for making Hillary Rodham Clinton’s inauguration gown, Matera is also the foremost costumer for this city’s major ballet companies.

After 33 years in the business, Matera has perfected the construction of the tutu by marrying century-old traditions and modern science.

“I was taught how to make tutus in the English style, which comes from the Russian tradition,” Matera said in her crisp British accent. “There is a formula that tells you how many inches each ruffle is, how the tutu is placed on the pants and the yoke.”

The construction of a tutu requires exact mathematical proportions, intense attention to detail and a technical knowledge of fabrics, anatomy and sweat glands.

While most people refer to the entire costume as a tutu, the word really describes only the short, tuft-like skirt of stiff tulle that juts away from a ballerina’s hips. The top of the outfit, the bodice, is usually made separately and then sewn onto the yoke--a hidden piece of heavyweight cotton that holds the costume together.

Though tradition dictates how much tulle is used and how long each layer should be, Matera sews in wires and elastic to improve the sturdiness and versatility of the tutu.

She also uses a quilted netting to form the inside layer of the bodice. This fabric is thin enough to be comfortable for the dancer but flexible enough to withstand many performances, vigorous dancing and numerous dry-cleanings, said Polly Kinney, a bodice-maker in Matera’s chaotic workshop.

The process of constructing such a visually unearthly creation from very earthly materials is time-consuming and expensive.

“It takes two or three fittings, with a combination of machine and hand work, to get the top to correctly fit the dancer,” Kinney said.

All of the beading and some of the stitching is done by the hands of union garment workers, usually from Latin America or Eastern Europe. Between hand basting and pleating and work on a sewing machine, one tutu generally takes 24 hours of intensive concentration and labor to put together, Kinney said.

And that one tutu can cost $2,000 to $5,000, depending on how much decoration is applied to the front of the bodice and to the top layer of the tutu.

Some full-length classical ballets, like “Swan Lake” or “Sleeping Beauty,” require more than 40 tutus, although in this era of budget cutbacks, most companies try to resuscitate old costumes rather than make new ones.

Ballet insiders consider Matera’s costumes the best in the business because of her attention to detail and innovations in design. The American Ballet Theater hires only Matera to make its classical ballet costumes.

“Tutus can be like wine,” said Leslie Schoof, the ABT’s general manager. “There’s Chardonnay and there’s Chardonnay. The audience would know the difference. They would be able to distinguish between the real thing and a knockoff.”

Cynthia Harvey, the ABT’s principal dancer, said of Matera’s tutus: “You feel that you don’t have to dance well because you look so good. You just have to show up and put in an appearance.”