balenciaga

Balenciaga is a high fashion brand, founded by designer, Cristóbal Balenciaga in Spain, 1919.

Balenciaga opened his first boutique in San Sebastián, Spain in 1919, which went on to expand including branches in Madrid and Barcelona. His designs were worn by the likes of the Spanish royal family and the aristocracy, but the Spanish civil war soon intervened with Balenciaga’s affairs, as he was forced to close his stores and move to Paris. Years later in 1937, Balenciaga opened his Paris couture house on Avenue George V, and his first fashion show featured designs heavily influenced by the Spanish Renaissance.

During WW2, customers risked their own safety to travel and see Balenciagas designs, and it was during this period that he was noted for his “Square coat” (shown below).

Post war, the full scale inventiveness and originality of the designer became apparent. The fluidity of his shapes and outlines enabled him to change the relationship between his clothing and women's bodies. In 1951, he totally overhauled the silhouette, broadening the shoulders and removing the waist. Balenciaga designed the tunic dress in 1955, later developing into the Chemise dress which came in 1958. Other pieces from 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).