1895-1972 Cristobal Balenciaga

[GBArt]

Beauty is subjective, of course. But I think it's fairly clear that Balenciaga's clients were mostly aristocrats with a refined sense of elegance and style. I'm not aware that he ever expressed any interest in mass marketing.

 

[Creative]

astonishing!!!!

I can't believe I've found this subforum!! It's amazing!

I really adore fashion history!



Great!!

 

[DosViolines]

Balenciaga Couture Dress & Jacket, c. 1960

whitakerauction

 

[DosViolines]

Balenciaga Couture Evening Set, 1953-1954

whitakerauction

 

[LucyInTheSky]

Vogue
April 15, 1967
Photographed by William Klein

scanned by me

 

[DosViolines]

thefrock

 

[DosViolines]

thefrock

 

[DosViolines]

thefrock

 

[DosViolines]

Balenciaga Coat

The inherent drama of Cristóbal Balenciaga's fashions comes to life in this image. A model wears a paisley silk organdy dress belted at the waist. Its already-exaggerated volume is augmented by the matching coat, with its sculpturally flared lines' oversize shape. The photograph, by Henry Clarke, appeared in the March 15, 1954, Vogue.

Artist: Henry Clarke

condenaststore.com

 

[DosViolines]

Balenciaga Evening Gown

Henry Clarke captures a model in Balenciaga in this photograph, which appeared in the November 1, 1953, Vogue. Her short-sleeve, nipped-waist gown with an off-the-shoulder neckline has a print that shows off the latest color combination, blond with azure. Her diamond jewelry is by Van Cleef & Arpels. The gorgeous, Degas-like background acts as an echo of the model herself.

Artist: Henry Clarke

condenaststore.com

 

[Fontenrose]

love it! thanks!

 

[DosViolines]

A model poses as a living mannequin in this Horst P. Horst photograph. She wears a linen Balenciaga suit in a striking shade of poppy red, with a matching hat and white gloves. Her architectural pose highlights the sculptural quality of the clothing. The image appeared in the March 15, 1952, Vogue.

condenaststore.com

 

[GBArt]

Love that pose and that look. B)

 

[bbofbalenciaga]

Does someone know about theese book? does it worth to buy them?

source: play.com|

 

[MynameisGreg]

Does someone know about theese book? does it worth to buy them?
*no quoting pictures*

I haven't seen the last one, but the first one i got for Christmas! and it is so amazing! I was thinking it would be only pictures, but their are great articles to accompany, it covers cristobal and nicolas up to 2005, well worth the buy, but you have to order it off amazon or somewhere it is out of print

 

[Jamess]

Speaking of books, Im not sure if anyone has mentioned it on this thread but the most comprehensive book about Balenciaga is a 1988/9 edition by Marie-Andree Jouve, Balenciaga's archivist. Its not the miniature Assouline(?) one, but a really huge version filled with information on his life/ the workings of the business, and hundreds of photos of clothes, embellishment, sketches, patterns etc, aswell as inside his homes, and interviews with people who worked in the atelier. I bought a copy a while ago and I think theyre about £500 on Amazon now, theres one on ebay too. There are also some wedding dresses photographed which he cut after he closed the house.
Most other Balenciaga books just feature a few of the images that are in this book, although 'hommage a Balenciaga' does have some really good closeups of the textiles, and Balenciaga Paris is good as it shows some of Ghesquiere's early work/campaign images etc.

'Balenciaga and his Legacy' is a good book for a different view of his work, quite cheap too(about £24), its all photographs from the Texas Fashion Collection of the University of North Texas, most clothes were donated by former clients. There's less of the avant-garde sculptural shapes but its really interesting to see what women actually bought from the collections. I think its about 80% images aswell. EDIT; this is the purple one pictured above.

Im searching for a cheap-ish copy of 'hommage..' and also theres a Met exhibition catalogue from yeeeears ago which Ide love to see.

I went to view Kerry Taylor's last auction which had a few Cristobal Balenciaga pieces in, they were amazing! You were free to handle them too.

 

[Creative]

Gorgeous, this dress is stunning. I would prefer it without flonces.



thefrock.com

 

[mackos]

I need to subscribe, Cristóbal is definitely one of my favourite designers ever! His clothes are just flawless and amaze me every single time I look at them

 

[misspistol]

^Me too, this thread is amazing!

 

[Humperz]

he is a visionary!