La Discreta Enamorada in Production at SMU

Balenciaga: Haute Couture Designer and Inspiration

– by Jenny Hulse (B.F.A., '09)

Haute couture designer Cristobal Balenciaga used draping techniques inspired by Renaissance painter Francisco de Zurbarán to produce some of the most influential and significant designs of the twentieth century. Balenciaga was very well known for his sculptural designs using stiff, expensive fabrics that created distinctive silhouettes. When defining a successful couturier, or fashion designer, Balenciaga was quick to say, “A couturier must be an architect for design, a sculptor for shape, a painter for colour, a musician for harmony, and a philosopher for temperance”. Balenciaga’s work exudes all of these characteristics, and it is clear that his creative applications of the above arts are, in part, the obvious reason that he was both successful and influential.

Balenciaga was born in 1895 in Guetaria, Spain. Between 1895 and 1918, Balenciaga was educated in fashion by his mother and eventually by a tailor in San Sebastian. In 1918, he opened his first couture house in San Sebastian, where he sold the clothing he designed, and in ten years he opened two more houses in Madrid and Barcelona. During the mid-1930’s, the Spanish Civil War began and forced Balenciaga to close all three of his couture shops. In despair, Balenciaga moved to London. He finally moved to Paris in 1937 to open his new couture house at 10, Avenue George V. The first of Balenciaga’s Paris collections occurred in the fall season of 1938; the critics and clients made it an immediate success. After his first showing, Balenciaga reopened his three Spanish houses. During the 1950s, Balenciaga’s reputation flourished as the designer introduced many new looks to the fashion world. The most famous new look was the Baby Doll dress that entailed a lace shift and a tight sheath worn underneath the shift.

Balenciaga was referred to as “a sculptor for shape.” He was well known for using the female body as a living sculpture upon which he built his fashions. When he created a dress, he approached the process an architect and firmly believing that “if the framework is good, one can build what one wants.” He used this philosophy to create innovative designs that remain the basis for many leading designers’ collections today. For example, he was famous for his use of mathematics to make the perfect sleeve. He had a reputation for never allowing an imperfect sleeve to leave his shop and he was also known to improve the sleeves on the coats of visitors entering his salon.

Balenciaga always sought to make all of his garments appear both simple and feminine. This idea of simplicity projected greatly into his choice of colors. Black was his favorite color to use, followed by browns, pinks, blues, and greens. He disliked using printed fabrics and instead embroidered or used sequins. Balenciaga kept the elements of his designs simple to showcase the silhouette of the gown. He insisted that a designer must “be natural, in order that everything may truly come from within you.”

Balenciaga was a master of innovation. Unlike his fellow designers, he made use of innovative synthetic fabrics, like the first water-resistant fabric; he also often combined familiar natural fabrics with these new man-made materials, in order to create a look that surprised through contrast. He was well known for layering fabrics to create a unique look. Even though he used new fabrics, he always returned to his favorites: silk, stiff satin, and lace. The layering of his fabrics is not considered body conscious and could add the appearance of weight on the customer.

Balenciaga’s lack of consideration for and connection to the appearance of the everyday woman was one major reason for his swift fall in popularity during the 1960’s. As the fashions of France moved pushed forward and changed with the introduction of prêt-a-porter, Balenciaga became disillusioned and closed his house in 1968 to the dismay of the public. It is rumored that the “Countess Mona Bismark lamented the event by locking herself indoors for three days.” Cristobal Balenciaga died on March 23, 1972 in Spain. Shortly after his death, the Gucci Group bought Balenciaga’s house and re-established his name. In 1997, Nicholas Ghesquière took over as the creative director. The house still produces evening wear, as well as ready-to-wear fashions, perfumes, and accessories.

Cristobal Balenciaga is considered one of the most influential men in the fashion industry. His creative outlook and use of fabrics made him a pioneer during his time and is the reason that many fashion styles used today. He used the female body as a canvas for his art and his creations were truly one in a million. As Elsa Schiaparelli said during an interview: “Balenciaga was the only couturier who dared to do what he wanted.”