Background

Cristóbal Balenciaga was born on January 21, 1895, in Getaria, Spain. His mother, Maria Martina Eizaguirre Embil, was a seamstress and father, José Balenciaga Basurto. was a fisherman, who passed away when Balenciaga was quite young. He had two elder siblings, sister Maria Agustina and brother Juan Martin.

Education

When Balenciaga's father died, his mother was left to provide for her three children. It was at the age of 11 that the couture genius started developing an interest in fashion when he began to sew as a way of helping his mother, who worked as a seamstress for some of Spain’s most elegant women. Her clients included the most fashionable and glamorous women in the village. He went on to receive professional training by joining a tailoring firm aged 12. One of his mother’s clients, the Marquesa de Casa Torres apprenticed him to tailor, sending him to Madrid to be formally trained.

Career

Balenciaga's first trip to Paris at 15 inspired him to become a couturier, and by age 20 he had his own dressmaking establishment at the fashionable summer resort of San Sebastián in Spain. He designed garments like the kimono shaped coat with ermine fur on the cuffs and collars, and reproduced the multi-layered Lanvin dress with a yoke in silk-tulle, in 1927. In 1931 Balenciaga went bankrupt but later on expanded to open in Madrid and Barcelona.

He worked on improving his craft and cater to his client’s special requirements by coming up with unique creations that were in on-trend with the current fashion magazines, like the wedding dress designed for Carmen Alústiza and the evening coat with the balloon sleeves, in 1933. He made frequent buying trips to Paris, purchasing clothes from legendary names of the time including Chanel, Vionnet, Lelong, and Schiaparelli that, on his return, were carefully taken apart so that he could examine the techniques and special "tricks" that any great designer has.

Traveling to Paris, he opened his Paris couture house on Avenue George V in August 1937. Also, he was teaching and inspiring other designers including, Oscar de la Renta, Madeleine Vionnet, Christian Dior, Coco Chanel, and Hubert de Givenchy. During this time the Spanish royal family and aristocracy wore his designs but due to the Spanish Civil War, he was forced to close his stores. In 1937, when the Spanish Civil War disrupted his business, he moved to Paris. For the next 30 years, his collections featured sumptuously elegant dresses and suits.

His early training set him apart from other couturiers of the time. He knew his craft inside out and was adept at every stage of the making process, from pattern drafting to cutting, assembling, and finishing a garment. For him, the design process started with the fabric rather than with a sketch, "it's the fabric that decides" he stated, proving that he knew how to exploit materials to the very best effect.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Balenciaga reigned supreme, his creations were iconic and considered to be masterpieces of haute couture, attracting dignitaries, socialites, actresses, designers, and an endless list of high-profile clients. Some of these included Aline Griffith, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie Kennedy, Anita Ekberg, Mona Bismarck, and Duchess Marella Agnelli.

In the 1950s, the later phase of his career, Balenciaga pioneered new shapes never before seen in women's fashion. These radical designs evolved gradually as he refined and reworked the same ideas from season to season. Volume filled the "balloon hems" of his early 1950s dresses, and was then used at the back of his "semi-fit' lines in the mid-50s - dresses and jackets fitted at the front but with loose voluminous backs. In 1957 he shocked the fashion world with the introduction of the "sack dress", a straight-up and downshift dress which completely eliminated the waist.

At a time when Christian Dior's hour-glass shaped New Look was still dominant, the "sack" was initially met with hostility from both clients and press. Like many of Balenciaga's most radical designs, this looks eventually filtered into the mainstream. The sack dress was the forerunner of the ubiquitous mini-dress of the 1960s - and remains a fashion staple today.

In the 1960s, he worked as a costume and wardrobe designer for several movies like Pecado de amor, The Daughters of Helena, Prohibido enamorarse, and Testament of Orpheus. He created the wedding ensemble for the Belgian Queen Fabiola when she was getting married to King Baudouin I. Balenciaga retired and closed his stores in Paris in the year 1968. However, the brand was later revived by his ardent followers and is presently owned by the Kering Group.

Achievements

• Balenciaga dressed some of the most glamorous women of the 1950s and 60s including Hollywood actress Ava Gardener, fashion icon Gloria Guinness and Mona von Bismarck, one of the world's wealthiest women, who commissioned everything from ball-gowns to gardening shorts from the couturier. Cristóbal Balenciaga created some of the most popular dresses, coats, tunics, and evening wear that were simple, elegant, yet reflected a genius technique that makes them a relevant point of study even today.
  
  A museum dedicated to Cristóbal Balenciaga was established in his hometown in 2011. The Design Museum of Barcelona has an extensive collection of dresses and accessories (especially hats) by Balenciaga. The Madrid Costume Museum also has a fashion collection that includes Balenciaga dresses. The city of San Sebastián also pays tribute to him with a road, which is located in the Igueldo neighborhood, where Balenciaga had a house.

Works

More photos

• design

  • design

    1951

  • design

    1961

  • design

    1947

  • design

    1957

  • design

    1958

  • design

  • design

    1961

  • design

    1954

  • design

    1964

Religion

Cristóbal Balenciaga was a devout Catholic and religious references appeared frequently in his designs.

Views

Balenciaga was largely influenced by the culture of Spain, with his designs often referencing flamenco dancers, bullfights, and Spanish works of art.

Quotations: "A woman has no need to be perfect or even beautiful to wear my dresses. The dress will do all that for her."

"Elegance is elimination."

"A couturier must be an architect for design, a sculptor for shape, a painter for color, a musician for harmony, and a philosopher for temperance."

Personality

Unlike most fellow designers, Balenciaga always tried to avoid publicity - he never came out to take a bow at the end of his shows and the only full interview he ever granted was in 1971, to Prudence Glyn of The Times.

Quotes from others about the person

• "Balenciaga alone is a couturier in the truest sense of the word. Only he is capable of cutting material, assembling a creation and sewing it by hand, the others are simply fashion designers." - Coco Chanel
  
  "Haute couture is like an orchestra whose conductor is Balenciaga. We, other couturiers, are the musicians and we follow the direction he gives." - Christian Dior
  
  "With Balenciaga, the most beautiful things that were produced were the things that were the most simple and sublime." - Gareth Pugh

Interests

• Artists

  Francisco de Goya, El Greco, Diego Velázquez, Francisco de Zurbarán

Connections

Cristóbal Balenciaga was gay and was known to have several lovers during his youth. However, his longest relationship was with his partner, Franco-Polish millionaire Władzio Jaworowski d’Attainville, although the couple never got married. Balenciaga was a private person and wasn’t vocal about his sexuality.

Father:

José Balenciaga Basurto

Mother:

Maria Martina Eizaguirre Embil

Brother:

Juan Martin Balenciaga Eizaguirre

Sister:

Maria Agustina Balenciaga Eizaguirre

Partner:

Władzio Jaworowski d’Attainville

client:

Mona von Bismarck

Balenciaga dressed Hollywood stars, royalty, and Mona von Bismarck exclusively. Mona only wore Balenciaga, and when the couture house closed, she spent three days locked in her hotel room, mourning the loss of her favorite designer.

client:

Grace Kelly

client:

Ava Gardner

client:

Audrey Hepburn

References

• The Master of Us All: Balenciaga, His Workrooms, His World A sparkling life of the monumental fashion designer Cristóbal Balenciaga One of the most innovative and admired figures in the history of haute couture, Cristóbal Balenciaga was, said Christian Dior, "the master of us all." Despite his extraordinary impact, Balenciaga was a man hidden from view. He saw to it that little was known about him, to the point that some French journalists wondered if he existed at all.
  2013
• Balenciaga's Craft: Outside In Cristóbal Balenciaga remains one of the most revered and enigmatic fashion designers. Here, breathtaking illustrations reveal why he is renowned for exceptional tailoring, sculptural shapes, deft manipulation of textiles, and dramatic use of color.
  2017