Object: Dress
Brand:
Balenciaga
(French, founded 1937)
Designer:
Cristóbal Balenciaga
(1895 - 1972)
Date: Fall 1964
Medium: Wool and mohair bouclé
Country: France
Credit Line: Gift of Joan Arkin
Object number: 87.1.4
DescriptionSemi fitted shift dress in off white wool / mohair bouclé; pointed roll collar with single neckline button; cap sleeves; concealed CF closure; couture
Label Text:In 1964, Queen famously ran an “obituary” for Balenciaga and his protégé, Givenchy. On a black-bordered page, the magazine’s influential editor, Clare Rendlesham, mourned, “The mood was fiftyish. The colours were drab.” While the subtlety of Balenciaga’s work was not beloved by all, he remained undeterred – as did his many clients.
Exhibitions:
- Paris Refashioned, 1957-1968