Museum Hosts Balenciaga Retrospective
France's Musee de la Mode et du Textile (Museum of Fashion and Textiles) will host a retrospective of the works of Spanish couturier christobal Balenciaga. Known for the sculptural quality of his work, Balenciaga learned from his mother, a seamstress, and later was sent to study tailoring formally in Madrid by his early patron, the Marquesa de casa Torres. He opened boutiques in Madrid, Barcelona and San Sebastián, and his designs were worn by the Spanish aristocracy and the Spanish royal family.
The advent of the Spanish civil war forced Balenciaga to close his boutiques in Spain and move his operations to Paris, where he staged his first show at his altier at Avenue George V. This collection included his famous "Infanta" gown, which was inspired by the paintings of Spanish painter Diego Velásquez. Famous and loyal clients included Jacqueline Kennedy, the Duchess of Windsor, and Pauline de Rothschild. He closed his fashion house in 1968 and retired, reputedly unhappy with the gaining prevalence of pret-a-porter. The retrospective at the museum will run through January 2007.
The advent of the Spanish civil war forced Balenciaga to close his boutiques in Spain and move his operations to Paris, where he staged his first show at his altier at Avenue George V. This collection included his famous "Infanta" gown, which was inspired by the paintings of Spanish painter Diego Velásquez. Famous and loyal clients included Jacqueline Kennedy, the Duchess of Windsor, and Pauline de Rothschild. He closed his fashion house in 1968 and retired, reputedly unhappy with the gaining prevalence of pret-a-porter. The retrospective at the museum will run through January 2007.