Talented young
Spaniard
Year 1895, in Spain, Basque Region, Guetaria – a
small fishing village, Cristabol Balenciaga was born. His father, a sea
captain, died when Balenciaga was very young. He spent
many hours of his childhood aside his mother while she was making dresses to support the family.
In his teens, he was formally trained as a tailor in Madrid and traveled to Paris to learn the designs of Doucet, Worth among others. At the age of sixteen, he set up his first couture workshop in San
Sebastian, where he adapted the Parisian Style for
Spanish women. In 1914, he opened
boutique Elsa in San Sebastian and later branched
in Madrid, Barcelona. Most of his clients were Spanish royal
families and aristocrats.
Fame in Paris
When Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936 and the Spanish
monarchy deposed, he was forced to close the stores because of the disappearance of
the clienteles. He moved to fashion capital of Paris,
opened a couture house in 1937 ad was fully embraced by the Parisians. He joined
the rank of the established couturiers such as Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli as the most influential designers. Praised as revolutionary and innovative by the French press,
Balenciaga was forward thinking but always able to draw upon and interpret historical
styles. His first runway show in Paris
in 1937 was heavily influenced by the Spanish Renaissance. Another example was his “infanta” gown, which was inspired by Diego
Velazquez’s portraits of 17th century Spanish court costume yet anticipated
Christian Dior's celebrated post-war "New Look." Goya’s art as well as flamenco dress were also his muse.
During War World II, clients risked travel to Europe for Balenciaga’s design, especially drawn by his square coat in which the sleeve was cut in one
piece with the yoke, and his unique combination of black and brown or black lace over
bright pink.
A new silhouette for
women
Balenciaga reached full scale of inventiveness after World
War II. His design became linear and streamlined. He played with the waistlines by raising it, dropping it, quite independent of the natural waistline. In 1957 came the Baby Doll look. He applied this name to a group of short flounced lace dresses. The loose
lace overdress showed a more adult slinky crepe-de-chine fitted sheath underneath. In
1958 he re-introduced chemise which would be the sleeveless sheath of the 1960s. Balenciaga
made the most important contribution to the world of fashion: a new
silhouette for women.
Conversant with Spanish ceremonial and vernacular dress as an expression of
European regionalism, Balenciaga likewise respected Orientalist effects. The cocoon shape
of the back alludes to the way a Japanese woman's outer kimono accommodates over
her obi tocreate an elegant arc. More evidently, in emphasizing the nape of the neck
by dropping the bias-rolled collar, he evokes the kimono's band neckline, which dips at
the back.
Other contributions of Balenciaga were tunic and empire
waist dress. The discreet yet important touches in his design were his trademark: collars
that stood away from the collarbone to give a swanlike appearance ad the shorten bracelet
sleeves to better show off the jewelry.
End of legacy,
enduring style
Despite his continuous success, the house of Balenciaga was
severely challenged in the 1960s, as fashionable young people bought
ready-to-wear clothing instead of couture. Symbolically, Balenciaga closed down his
fashion house in 1968, a year of violent political protests in Paris.
Balenciaga died in Valencia in 1972 but he is still
inspiration to many. The timeless creation he gave to the world is long lasting. The modern look of Balenciaga has been sustained by couturiers he trained, such as Givenchy, Courreges,
Ungaro.
Coco Chanel once said that BALENCIAGA is the only couturier
able to design, cut, assemble and sew a dress together entirely by himself.
BALENCIAGA himself sums it as the following: a Couturier
must be an architect for design, a sculptor for shape, a painter for color, a
musician for harmony, and a philosopher for temperance.
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