78.75.1

Images (4)

Dior + Balenciaga, Left to right: 78.75.1 (plaid coat and pattern on wall), 82.209.1 (blue suit), 2007.46.4 (houndstooth suit), 89.163.80 (red, white, and blue suit), 82.208.11 (grey wool suit), 78.75.3 (black and white culotte dress), 71.240.4 (purple evening dress), P85.89.1 (black evening dress), 91.183.16 (blue evening dress), 86.66.4 (blue evening dress and capelet)

Tailor_1 Left to right 94.122.1 (white suit), 82.106.2 (sample case), P80.5.7 (blue coat and vest), 71.220.1(blue suit), 78.75.1 (coat)

Dior + Balenciaga, 78.75.1 (plaid coat and pattern on wall)

Object: Coat

Brand: Balenciaga (French, founded 1937)

Designer: Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895 - 1972)

Date: 1961

Medium: Wool

Country: France

Credit Line: Gift of Wendy Jackson

Object number: 78.75.1

DescriptionOne seam coat in light grey wool coating with overscaled navy blue plaid; engineered, draped and cut in single major piece, with all darts, seams and bound buttonholes coinciding with grid of plaid; double breasted cocoon coat with roll collar shaped with 18 darts invisibly placed between lines of plaid; vertical slit pockets; couture

Label Text:The great couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga possessed an unparalleled mastery of tailoring. A brilliant example is this deceptively simple, one-seamed coat made of ivory and navy blue wool plaid. Crafted of a single piece of fabric, the coat morphs from a simple, flat garment into a three-dimensional form with trapezoidal gussets inset at the shoulders and a collar shaped with 20 irregular darts. Each seam is so meticulously pieced to match that the grid pattern is never misaligned.

In Collection(s)

1960s

Exhibitions:

Dior + Balenciaga: The Kings of Couture and Their Legacies
The Tailor's Art