Dress
Brand
Balenciaga
(French, founded 1937)
Designer
Nicolas Ghesquière
(born 1971)
Fall 2004
Printed canvas, wool or cotton knit
Gift of Balenciaga
Object number2005.23.1
Nicholas Ghesquière was born in 1971, a year before Cristobal Balenciaga died. He presented his first ready-to-wear collection for the house of Balenciaga in 1997 and was quickly identified as one of the most important and directional fashion designers working today. Although his work is contemporary and appropriates elements from contemporary culture, as seen in the graffiti design on this dress, he also borrows from the Balenciaga vocabulary. The carefully constructed dress with its asymmetrical neckline harkens back to the elder couturier's heyday. Ghesquiere's successful blending of his own ideas with the Balenciaga-esque has been an exemplary model for the current revival of historic fashion houses.
DescriptionRed, yellow and black Graffiti mini dress with black and white striped knit asymmetrically pieced with printed canvasCollections
Exhibitions