Balenciaga (Spanish pronunciation: [balenˈθjaɣa]) is a Spanish luxury fashion house founded by Cristóbal Balenciaga, a Spanish designer, born in the Basque Country, Spain. He had a reputation as a couturier of uncompromising standards and was referred to as "the master of us all" by Christian Dior. His bubble skirts and odd, feminine, yet ultra-modern shapes were trademarks of the house. The House of Balenciaga is now owned by the French multinational company Kering.
History
Cristóbal Balenciaga opened his first boutique in San Sebastián, Spain, in 1919, which expanded to include branches in Madrid and Barcelona. The Spanish royal family and the aristocracy wore his designs, but when the Spanish Civil War forced him to close his stores, Balenciaga moved to Paris.
Balenciaga opened his Paris couture house on Avenue George V in August 1937, and his first runway show featured designs heavily influenced by the Spanish Renaissance. Balenciaga's success in Paris was nearly immediate. Within two years, the French press lauded him as a revolutionary, and his designs were highly sought-after. Carmel Snow, the editor of Harper's Bazaar was an early champion of his designs.
Customers risked their safety to travel to Europe during World War II to see Balenciaga's clothing. During this period, he was noted for his "square coat," with sleeves cut in a single piece with the yoke, and for his designs with black (or black and brown) lace over bright pink fabric.
However, it was not until the post-war years that the full scale of the inventiveness of this highly original designer became evident. His lines became more linear and sleek, diverging from the hourglass shape popularized by Christian Dior's "New Look". The fluidity of his silhouettes enabled him to manipulate the relationship between his clothing and women's bodies. In 1951, he totally transformed the silhouette, broadening the shoulders and removing the waist. In 1955, he designed the tunic dress, which later developed into the chemise dress of 1958. Other contributions in the postwar era included the spherical balloon jacket (1953), the high-waisted baby doll dress (1957), the cocoon coat (1957), the balloon skirt (1957), and the sack dress (1957). In 1959, his work culminated in the Empire line, with high-waisted dresses and coats cut like kimonos. His manipulation of the waist, in particular, contributed to "what is considered to be his most important contribution to the world of fashion: a new silhouette for women."
In the 1960s, Balenciaga was an innovator in his use of fabrics: he tended toward heavy fabrics, intricate embroidery, and bold materials. His trademarks included "collars that stood away from the collarbone to give a swanlike appearance" and shortened "bracelet" sleeves. His often spare, sculptural creationsâ€"including funnel-shape gowns of stiff duchess satin worn to acclaim by clients such as Pauline de Rothschild, Bunny Mellon, Marella Agnelli, Hope Portocarrero, Gloria Guinness, and Mona von Bismarckâ€"were considered masterworks of haute couture in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1960, he designed the wedding dress for Queen Fabiola of Belgium made of ivory duchess satin trimmed with white mink at the collar and the hips. Jackie Kennedy famously upset John F. Kennedy for buying Balenciaga's expensive creations while he was President because he feared that the American public might think the purchases too lavish. Her haute couture bills were eventually discreetly paid by her father-in-law, Joseph Kennedy.
Protégés
Several designers who worked for Balenciaga would go on to open their own successful couture houses, notably Oscar de la Renta (1949), Andre Courreges (1950), Emanuel Ungaro (1958), but his most famous and noted protégé was Hubert de Givenchy, who was the lone designer to side with Balenciaga against the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture Parisienne and also the press over the scheduling of his shows.
Battle against the press
In 1957, Balenciaga famously decided to show his collection to the fashion press the day before the clothing retail delivery date, not the standard four weeks before the retail delivery date the fashion industry followed at the time. By keeping the press unaware of the design of his garments until the day before they were shipped to stores, he hoped to curtail ongoing piracy and copying of his designs. The press resisted, finding it nearly impossible to get his work into their print deadlines, but Balenciaga and protege Givenchy stood firm, seriously impacting their coverage and press of the era. His supporters would argue that rival Christian Dior would gain acclaim from copying Balenciaga's silhouettes and cuts, claiming them as his own original work; because Balenciaga was not interested in press coverage, the media, and consumer never knew.
In 1967, both designers reversed their decision and joined the traditional schedule.
Battle against the Chambre
Balenciaga defiantly resisted the rules, guidelines, and bourgeoisie status of the Chambre syndicale de la haute couture parisienne, and, thus, was never a member. Although he is spoken of with immense reverence, technically, Balenciaga couture was never haute couture.
Cristóbal Balenciaga closed his fashion house in 1968 and died in 1972. The house lay dormant until 1986.
Balenciaga today
In 1986, Jacques Bogart S.A. acquired the rights to Balenciaga, and opened a new ready-to-wear line, "Le Dix". The first collection was designed by Michel Goma in October 1987, who remained at the house for the next five years to mixed reviews. He was replaced in 1992 with Dutch designer Josephus Thimister who began the restoration of Balenciaga to an elite, high-fashion status. During Thimister's term, Nicolas Ghesquière would join as a license designer, and eventually was promoted to head designer in 1997.
In 1992, for the Summer Olympic Games, House of Balenciaga designed the French team's clothes.
Balenciaga is now owned by Kering, formerly known as PPR, and its womenswear and menswear was headed by Nicolas Ghesquière. Ghesquière, like Balenciaga, is a self-taught designer, and apprenticed to Jean-Paul Gaultier and Agnes B. The hip, fresh interpretation of Balenciaga classics, such as the semifitted jacket and the sack dress, caught the attention of the media as well as such celebrities as Madonna and Sinéad O'Connor.
In 2002, Balenciaga's star Nicolas Ghesquiere copied the work of Kaisik Wong, a designer from San Francisco. Ghesquiere created a patchwork vest in his spring collection that resembled one that Wong designed in 1973. Ghesquiere admitted in an interview in Paris that he had copied the garment.
There was some conflict within the House of Balenciaga on Ghesquiere's designs. The Gucci group said that if Balenciaga didn't become profitable within the year 2007, they would replace him. Ghesquière's F/W 2005 line showed that the house was not only profitable, but also attracted a number of celebrity customers including editor-in-chief at Vogue Anna Wintour.
The House of Balenciaga designed the dresses worn by Jennifer Connelly and Nicole Kidman to the 2006 Academy Awards, as well as the wedding gown Kidman wore when she married Keith Urban. Kylie Minogue also wore a Balenciaga dress for her "Slow" and "Red Blooded Woman" music videos and for her concert tour.
Today, the brand is most famous for its line of motorcycle-inspired handbags, especially the famous "Lariat". Balenciaga has eight exclusive boutiques in the United States. One Balenciaga store is located on 22nd St in New York City, New York. A second store is located in Los Angeles, California, on Melrose Avenue. Recently, a third store opened at the South Coast Plaza, in Costa Mesa, California. This store is 1,200 square feet (110Â m2) and includes coffin-like inset displays. The New York and Los Angeles boutiques carry both men's and women's ready-to-wear, while the South Coast Plaza boutique carries only women's clothing. A fourth, located in Las Vegas inside Caesars Palace, carries only accessories. An additional location on the Las Vegas Strip, in Crystals at CityCenter, sells accessories as well as women's ready-to-wear. The boutique at Ala Moana Center in Honolulu, offers men's and women's ready-to-wear and accessories. There is a store at the Bal Harbour shops in Bal Harbour, Florida. An eighth store is opening spring 2014 in Dallas, Texas, at the Highland Park Village to become the first boutique in Texas. The Highland Park Village boutique is opening next to Christian Dior and will carry men's and women's ready to wear and accessories. All of the boutiques employ dynamic architecture, with white paneling, marble, and glass work as well as black leather seats and light green, black and navy carpets or white tiles, emphasizing the brand's lean toward avant-garde and the drama of fashion.
Balenciaga's Fall/Winter 2007 show impressed Teen Vogue editor-in-chief Amy Astley so much that an entire recent spread in the magazine, titled "Global Studies" and shot in Beijing, was influenced by it. The line included skinny jodhpurs, tight, fitted blazers, beaded embellished scarves, and other multicultural mixes.
Balenciaga is known for creating avant-garde structural pieces, straddling the edge of fashion and forecasting the future of women's ready-to-wear fashion. Vintage Balenciaga garments are very popular among influential fashion editors, Hollywood stars, and top models, and have been seen on Sienna Miller, Lara Bingle, Raquel Zimmerman, Caroline Trentini, Emmanuelle Alt, Tatiana Sorokko, Hilary Rhoda, Jennifer Garner, and Stephanie Seymour, among others. Balenciaga is also frequently worn by fashion icon and actress Chloë Sevigny, who is also a muse of Nicolas Ghesquiere.
On 24 March 2011 at San Francisco’s M. H. de Young Museum, House of Balenciaga celebrated the opening of Balenciaga and Spain, a 120-piece fashion retrospective of Cristóbal Balenciaga’s career. The exhibition included many Balenciaga designs from the Museums' encyclopedic costume collection, which boasts impressive holdings of creations by the designer. “You can’t even measure it,†said Rodarte designer Laura Mulleavy of Cristóbal Balenciaga’s influence. The $2,500-a-ticket fund-raiser for the museum drew 350 guests, including Denise Hale, Marissa Mayer, Vanessa Getty, Victoria Traina, Vanessa Traina, Jamie Tisch, Gwyneth Paltrow, Orlando Bloom, Balthazar Getty, Maggie Rizer, Connie Nielsen, Maria Bello, and Mia Wasikowska.
On November 5, 2012, Balenciaga announced that it was parting with creative director Nicolas Ghesquière, ending his 15-year tenure. The brand announced Alexander Wang its new creative director. Wang presented his first collection for the label on February 28, 2013 at Paris Fashion Week. In 2014, the Tribunal de grande instance de Paris set a trial date for the lawsuit between Balenciaga vs. Ghesquière. Kering-owned Balenciaga claimed that Ghesquière's comments in the magazine System had hurt the company's image. The highly publicized suit was mediated out of court.
On July 30, 2015, Balenciaga announced it was parting with creative director Alexander Wang after three years. The Spring/Summer 2016 show was his last, featuring white loungewear made from soft, natural fabrics. In early October, the brand announced Demna Gvasalia as its new creative director.
Creative directors
- Cristóbal Balenciaga â€" 1919 to 1968
- Michel Goma â€" 1987 to 1992
- Josephus Thimister â€" 1992 to 1997
- Nicolas Ghesquière â€" 1997 to 2012
- Alexander Wang â€" 2012 to 2015
- Demna Gvasalia â€" 2015 to present
In popular culture
On January 29, 2014, the character Myrtle Snow cries "Balenciaga!" as her dying words on the season finale of FX television show American Horror Story: Coven.
The brand is mentioned in the single "New Americana" by Halsey. Nicki Minaj references the brand in her first single from the album Pink Print, "Bed of Lies": "Balenciaga's on my boot with the python strap". It is also mentioned in A$AP Rocky's song "Fashion Killa". Ghanaian rapper EL makes reference to the brand in his hit single "Koko"â€""See me rocking my Balenciaga for my God oo." The brand is also referenced to by Bronx rapper A Boogie wit da Hoodie in his song "Not a Regular Person" with the lyrics "I'm done with these Balenciagas, they keep on fucking my socks up."
RuPaul's Drag Race contestant Elijah Kelly uses the brand as the last name of his drag persona, Mariah Paris Balenciaga.
References
External links
- The Official Balenciaga Site
- Balenciaga â€" brand and company profile at Fashion Model Directory
- Paris Fashion Show 2007: Balenciaga Catwalk
- Professor Aiko Beall of Otis College of Art and Design on Balenciaga
- "Interactive timeline of couture houses and couturier biographies". Victoria and Albert Museum.Â
- The Cristobal Balenciaga Museum in Getaria, Spain
- Balenciaga in Russian
