Balenciaga

The house of Balenciaga was founded by Cristóbal Balenciaga who is widely regarded as one of the greatest fashion designers of all time. Born in the Basque country of Spain, he opened his Paris couture house in 1937. Success was immediate. Christian Dior called him "the master of us all." His tailoring was impeccable and gave the illusion of complete simplicity. A true architect of fashion, Balenciaga explored austere and elegant forms, utilizing materials such as silk gazar. A colleague recalled: "The master, like a surgeon, operated in absolute silence, surrounded by his assistants, manipulating scissors and pins with a mesmerizing sureness, transforming cloth into a dress of elegance and perfect balance." During the 1950s and 1960s, his creations became increasingly abstract and sculptural. At a time when the fashionable silhouette focused on the hourglass figure, Balenciaga produced such innovations as the sack, the baby doll, and the sheath. Many of his designs referenced his heritage with their use of black lace, jet beading, and dramatic silhouettes. Balenciaga's discriminating clientele included the Duchess of Windsor, Pauline de Rothschild, Gloria Guinness, and Mona Bismarck.

Cristóbal Balenciaga closed his couture house in 1968, believing that elegance was irrelevant in the face of a rising youth culture. Yet his explorations in volume, shape and form revolutionized fashion.

In 1986 when Jacque Bogart S.A. acquired the rights to the Balenciaga label, he revived the brand as a ready-to-wear line under designer Michael Goma. In 1992, Goma was replaced by Dutch designer Josephus Thimister who was there until 1997. Designer Nicolas Ghesquière, who was born in 1971, a year before Balenciaga died, presented his first collection for the House of Balenciaga in 1997. Ghesquière left the house in 2012. He was followed by Alexander Wang, who designed 10 collections for the house (2012-2015) and Demna Gvasalia who has served as artistic director since 2015.