A Look Back At Balenciaga’s Most Iconic Moments Through History
As the upcoming V&A exhibition Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion shows, the iconic house has a long, storied history that goes far beyond the elegant puffers and bejeweled shoes popular today.
Founder Cristobal Balenciaga opened his couture house in Paris in 1937, escaping the civil war in his native Spain. He quickly won a legion of fans, from the aristocracy and royalty to Hollywood’s top brass, and despite his aversion to publicity, he was a patron of the rich and famous for decades.
He closed his house immediately in 1968. This move shocked many; among them was loyal customer Mona von Bismarck; Mona von Bismarck was so distraught that she refused to leave her villa on Capri for three days.
Balenciaga died shortly after 1972, 14 years before the label was revived by Jacques Bogart SA in 1986. It would reach its creative peak in 1997 with the appointment of Nicolas Ghesquiere as creative director, following Cristobal’s example. The French renovated the house and turned it into one of the most famous houses in the world today. After a brief stint as creative director at Alexander Wang, it is now run by Demna Gvasalia and continues to grow.
Here we follow the biggest moments in the history of the fashion house.
The Man
In August 1937, Cristóbal Balenciaga opened his own couture house in Paris after the civil war deported him from his native Spain, where his clientele consisted of royalty and nobility.
became so successful in Paris that during World War II, customers are said to have traveled to Paris to buy her dresses and gowns, risking their safety.
The other New Look
After the war, he presented a new version of Christian Dior’s New Look, which was also characterized by its waistline and advocated the drum silhouette. Dior called Balenciaga ‘the master of us all’.
Her use of large volumes of photographs (photographs) was praised, as was her creation of flowing dresses and cocoon coats, all silhouettes that persist to this day. Throughout his career, he trained designers such as Hubert de Givenchy, Emanuel Ungaro and Oscar de la Renta.
Balenciaga on film
In 1956, Cristobal designed the costumes for Ingrid Bergman’s historical film ‘Anastasia’.
Balenciaga dress, Anastasia Pieces made for the film include a navy blue suit and a satin-lined slipper-satin wrap (photo).
Famous fans
Cristobal Balenciaga became famous through Hollywood fans, including Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly and Jackie Kennedy (who became famous with her husband for the Balenciaga bill).
Image: Elizabeth Taylor in 1967 wears an intricate sari dress designed by Cristobal Balenciaga actress Anita Ekberg from Balenciaga Boulevard George V store in Paris in 1962.
Cristobal’s Final Design
In 1972, Balenciaga came out of retirement to design a wedding dress for the Spanish aristocrat and his wife, María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú (pictured). She died two weeks later.
Dress, Dresses, Dress, Dress, Victorian dress, Fashion dress, Haute couture, Sleeve, Dress Dress, Casual wear,
Dress containing more than 10,000 pearls and 20 pieces of silver (photo). It is said that Balenciaga changed the dress two days before the wedding because he was not satisfied with it.