The great Coco Chanel called him the only real couturier who creates with his own hands, and the founder of high fashion, Dior, considered him his teacher. Last year marked the 120th anniversary of the birth of the fashion designer, whose career began as a teenager.
Fateful Acquaintance
Born in 1895, Cristobal Balenciaga helped his mother sew from an early age, and by the age of 12 he was so familiar that he mastered the cutting technique like a real tailor.
A year later, seeing an influential lady of the city in poorly fitting clothes, the teenager dared to approach and offer his services in tailoring a beautiful outfit. True, he did not have fabric, but the Marquise de Cassa Torres decided to test the self-confident Cristobal by providing him with a cut. Having received a luxurious dress, in which the lady shone for a long time at receptions, she gives the young talent to an elite atelier, thereby determining his fate.
Evil tongues believed that only thanks to the connections of a high-ranking marquise, a young man reached great heights, without taking into accountattention to his amazing talent.
The path to success
At 17, a gifted young man gets a job at the Spanish branch of the Parisian fashion house, where he specializes in tailoring women's clothing.
However, Cristobal Balenciaga, whose biography is a path to success, after a few years thinks about his own brand, dreaming of working for himself. He leaves for France, where he receives the experience he needs. New collections of famous designers impress the future star. He absorbs, like a sponge, all the latest trends in the fashion world and even takes training from Coco Chanel.
New fashion brand Balenciaga
The young man returns to Spain, filled with new ideas, and begins to work on models in which Parisian chic is guessed.
It must be said that the young man's wish for his own brand of clothing comes true - the ambitious Cristobal soon opens not only his atelier, but also the first store that presents the clothes of the new Balenciaga brand.
Luxury gowns are a hit with women in Spain, and after his meteoric success, Cristobal Balenciaga is expanding the business by opening new boutiques for women in Madrid and Barcelona.
Move to Paris
After the start of the civil war in Spain in 1936, the fashion designer curtails his activities in his homeland and moves to Paris, where he had to start all over again, proving his professionalism. He borrows money to start a fashion house from scratchopening a salon on the most prestigious street.
Fashion revolution
Cristobal Balenciaga, whose clothing collections made him world famous, worked fruitfully during the Second World War. Until now, there is even a legend that fashionistas who wanted to dress beautifully crossed the front line just to buy outfits from Cristobal.
At the end of the war, Balenciaga completely changes the familiar female silhouette, emphasizing square shoulders and a narrow waist. A few years later, models appeared in his collections that made a real revolution. Exquisite dresses with deep cutouts and open shoulders are becoming a sign of aristocracy and good taste.
It was Cristobal who invented the well-known wrap skirt and coat with a huge collar. He chose loose models, the fabric of which did not emphasize female flaws, but, on the contrary, draped various imperfections.
Cristobal Balenciaga: dresses
It is necessary to talk about his dresses, created in the 60s of the XX century, separately. The master is moving away from the usual tight-fitting models, having developed a completely new design. All fashionistas were shocked when fashion models appeared on the catwalks, whose graceful figures were hidden under strange outfits. The bag dress and tunic dress stirred up the entire public, who did not know how to react to the mysterious models.
A Baby Doll style dress with a bell skirt has becomea real bomb, making an indelible impression. It is interesting that the master did not allow journalists to show, believing that the subjective opinion of the audience should be formed independently, and not from press reports.
With the light hand of Cristobal, these silhouettes have firmly entered the world of fashion, and every year the technique of tailoring his outfits has become more and more perfect.
High-ranking and famous clients
Cristobal Balenciaga has never made discounts, even for regular customers who buy all of his collections. So his brand gradually gained the fame of the most expensive fashion house. And the queens of Monaco, Spain, J. Kennedy, M. Dietrich, I. Bergman were buyers of exquisite outfits.
It was not for nothing that all these women were included in the lists of the most fashionable and well-dressed celebrities, because the clothes they purchased corresponded to a high standard. All embroidery and lace on things were exclusively handmade.
Fashion House Closing
Balenciaga has always gathered aristocratic high society around him. And when he announced the end of his brand in 1968, there were reports in the press that “fashion would never be the same without Balenciaga.”
What motivated the great couturier, whose authority was undeniable? He stated that he could no longer follow the new fashion trends that require a complete change in the concept of the brand. Cristobal Balenciaga admitted that the current style of the sexual revolution is dictated by the street, not fashion designers, and elegant collections are being replaced by vulgar ones.outfits.
Shock for shoppers
The founder of the brand has always considered fashion a real art and never intended to sew for the masses, paying attention to models for the elite.
It is known that the message about the closure of all studios caused a real shock among his clients. Many sobbed and bought outfits "for future use", and some even reported that they feel naked without their favorite things.
After the closing of the fashion house, the couturier leaves for his homeland, where he finds eternal rest in four years.
Cristobal Balenciaga perfume
The innovator in the fashion industry has always thought about launching his own perfume line. And after the end of the war, he realized the idea, sparing no expense on natural ingredients for Le Dix and Quadrille fragrances. Cristobal Balenciaga, whose perfumes were appreciated by the fans of the brand, gave full freedom to full-time perfumers.
Not only Spaniards fell in love with luxurious fragrances, but also the fair sex of other countries, who dream of owning new products that emphasize the luxury of the brand's outfits.
But the most popular, perhaps, became the Cristobal perfume of the same name, released in 1998 after the death of the master under the new creative director of the company. The spicy, smoky, creamy fragrance has been a hit with women for nearly 20 years. The perfume bottle resembles a bar of gold, and the evening perfume is recognized as a true classic.
Secrecy and solitude of the master
The mysterious Cristobal Balenciaga, whose personal life was unusually interestinghis fans, carefully concealed all its details. He did not go to the podium after the shows and did not like to communicate with an enthusiastic audience.
The master worked in silence, and his assistants were accustomed to catching their boss's wishes by gestures. Having little contact with journalists and not giving interviews, only at the closing of the fashion house with anguish, Balenciaga Cristobal admitted to the press that he "had no one to dress now." Photos of the couturier, leading a secluded lifestyle, rarely appeared in fashion magazines, and the identity of the founder of the elite house remained unknown to many.
Brand revival
It must be said that attempts to revive the Balenciaga brand after its closure by the founder were made repeatedly. However, none of the maestro's students could create truly interesting outfits that would hook buyers with their originality. Later, the fashion house was bought by the equally famous brand Gucci, and in 1997 the young designer N. Ghesquière became the creative director, under whose leadership the brand began a triumphant return to all the catwalks of the world.
Nicolas revived the company, combining new ideas in the fashion world with old traditions, increasing sales several times. A Frenchman who knows his business gave a second life to the brand, returning it to its lost positions.
Carefully approaching the heritage of a luxury brand, Ghesquière noted that "luxury, which goes hand in hand with exclusive, needs protection." The first show of new collections in the United States made a splash, and all the famous divas of Hollywood stood in line to sew expensive ones for themselves.outfits.
The unconditional talent of the designer complemented the aesthetics of the fashion house that came to life after its appearance. In 2012, he left the company, terminating the contract by mutual agreement.
Author models and availability for buyers
The indisputable authority, who raised the art of sewing and tailoring to the highest level, lived a long life full of creative success. Now the brand's clothing has become available not only for movie stars and roy alty. And if luxurious designer handmade models are presented on the catwalk, then for everyday life they are offered high-quality incarnations that replace elite outfits.
