Avant Garde
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STYLE NOTES: BALENCIAGA
Angel on My Shoulder, Then
Seven years before he relocated to Paris from his native Spain, Cristobal Balenciaga was experimenting with tiers of fabric, which would become a house signature.
A coat trimmed with astrakhan, circa 1930.
Photo: Courtesy of Archives Balenciaga
STYLE NOTES: BALENCIAGA
Angel on My Shoulder, Now
Raw, unfinished edges add a modern touch to this cocktail dress by Roksanda Ilincic, a London up-and-comer with a penchant for Balenciaga-style shapes.
Photo: Marcio Madeira
STYLE NOTES: BALENCIAGA
High Society, Then
Cecil Beaton, who frequently photographed Balenciaga’s great client, Mona von Bismarck, once said that the couturier had “created the future for fashion.” Case in point: this taffeta gown.
A strapless gown in two tones of gray velvet and taffeta with cuffed décolletage, Vogue, 1948.
Photo: Clifford Coffin / Condé Nast Archives
STYLE NOTES: BALENCIAGA
High Society, Now
Call it a case of life imitating art imitating life. The billowing clouds of tulle-covered taffeta that closed Peter Som’s fall show were inspired by the Ascot scene in My Fair Lady. The costume designer on that film? None other than that noted Balenciaga admirer, Cecil Beaton.
Photo: Greg Kessler
STYLE NOTES: BALENCIAGA
Nip and Tuck, Then
A draper par excellence, Balenciaga had a stable of models at his beck and call. His favorite was Colette, she of the broad shoulders and jutting, angular hips. When fitting his tailored suits with signature nipped waists and rounded hips on other girls, he used padding to achieve a fuller silhouette. The wishbone buttoning on this 1950 suit accentuates the model’s hourglass shape.
Model wearing single-breasted skirt suit with wishbone buttoning by Balenciaga, Vogue, 1950.
Photo: Irving Penn / Condé Nast Archives
STYLE NOTES: BALENCIAGA
Nip and Tuck, Now
After a slim, streamlined spring show, Alber Elbaz threw a curveball for fall, experimenting with hip padding in his latest Lanvin collection.
Photo: Marcio Madeira
STYLE NOTES: BALENCIAGA
Puff Piece, Then
As Vogue put it in 1951, this black silk-cloque suit with V collar and quite-straight skirt is “a quiet buildup for the elegance of the great cuffs.”
Pneumatic cuffs, Vogue, 1951
Photo: Henry Clarke / Condé Nast Archives
STYLE NOTES: BALENCIAGA
Puff Piece, Now
At Bryan Bradley’s Tuleh, the oversized cuffs Balenciaga introduced have migrated from just below the elbow to the shoulder.
Photo: Marcio Madeira
STYLE NOTES: BALENCIAGA
Pop Goes the Bubble, Then
This look from 1951—the year after Balenciaga unveiled his balloon dresses—owes its poufy shape to that enormous sash.
Model wearing Balenciaga’s black tissue-paper taffeta dress tied with a ballooning sash, Vogue, 1951.
Photo: Henry Clarke / Condé Nast Archives
STYLE NOTES: BALENCIAGA
Pop Goes the Bubble, Now
No slouch at folding and tucking, Marc Jacobs achieves a similar, if deliberately less grand, effect at Louis Vuitton.
Photo: Style.com
(style.com)
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