Balenciaga

by Marie-Andrée Jouve, Cristóbal Balenciaga

Christian Dior called Cristobal Balenciaga "the master of us all." The priest-like Balenciaga, whose private life remained a total mystery until the day he died, created day dresses of deceiving simplicity and evening gowns of staggering extravagance, and for them he was paid the highest prices in the couture world. His faithful clients were the great fashion plates of the postwar the Duchess of Windsor, Gloria Guinness, Pauline de Rothschild, and Mona Bismarck, among others.

Cristobal Balenciaga was born in 1895 in Getaria, in Spain's Basque country, and at the early age of twenty-four he created his own couture house in San Sebastian. He opened in Barcelona in 1933, in Madrid in 1935, and in 1948 on the Avenue Georges V in Paris, where he could serve a more international clientele. Cristobal Balenciaga retired in 1968 and died in reclusion in his native Spain in 1972.

The informative text and legendary photography in this volume beautifully document this master's immeasurably influential life and work.

Genres: Fashion

79 pages, Hardcover

First published July 15, 1989

Reviews

[Elle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Assouline edition of Balenciaga is an excerpt of Marie-Andrée Jouve and Jacqueline Demornex classic tome Balenciaga, first published in 1988/9 by Rizzoli (English) and Edition du Regard (French), now currently out of print. Therefore this slim budget edition (the original runs up to 375 pages) is a wonderful substitute for those who can't afford the stratospheric prices the rare books market wants for the original ($200-$800 depending on condition).

The book has a short biographic essay in the beginning, a selection of the best photographs of Balenciaga's work, some detail photographs of suit and jackets that illustrate his hallmark tailoring and finally a chronology of Balenciaga lifetime at the end. It's a great introduction to Balenciaga and a handy reference; I find myself going back to book again and again looking for inspiration (Balenciaga is a great master of balance and harmony), sometimes solutions (his sleeves are known to be exceptionally well made). So in short: Get it if you like fashion! You won't regret having this in your collection.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

the pictures are really spectacular and the dresses are amazing. i liked learning about his fabric choices and the frequency with which he used any particular fabric. i especially like discovering new fabrics.

also, balenciaga said you should never keep someone waiting more than 10 minutes and so i am trying to shoot for that all the time.

[Grace Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the five books of my bible collection. Love it! Bought it at his exhibit in SF.