SMART THINKING

Spain’s most celebrated couturier created fashion of timeless beauty and elegance.

Spain’s most celebrated couturier created fashion of timeless beauty and elegance.

There has never been a fashion designer quite like Cristóbal Balenciaga. The Spanish couturier, born in 1895, was famously reticent and only ever granted one press interview. He preferred his models to be older than most, quite often not beautiful and, as one of his fitters famously once said, “Monsieur Balenciaga likes a little stomach”. His devotees included Greta Garbo, Grace Kelly, Helena Rubinstein and Jacqueline Kennedy. In his day, Balenciaga was the most expensive couturier in Paris; in 1951 Woolworth’s heiress Barbara Hutton is said to have paid the equivalent of an eyewatering A$334,000 for a Balenciaga ball gown.

Balenciaga began designing dresses as a boy after his father died. After conquering the fashion world in his native Spain, he established his Paris fashion house on Avenue George V. Known for his beautiful capes, elaborate hats, standaway collars that ‘lengthened’ the neck and flowing dresses without waistlines, Balenciaga led his maison for half a century before retiring in 1972. Revered by fashion editors and couturiers alike, he was dubbed ‘the Master’ by fellow designer Christian Dior.

To mark the centenary of the opening of Balenciaga’s first fashion house, an exhibition from London’s Victoria and Albert Museum is visiting the Bendigo Art Gallery. It showcases vintage pieces including the tunic, sack, baby doll and shift dresses – all still style staples today – as well as ensembles created for Hollywood actress Ava Gardner and socialite Gloria Guinness. This fascinating exhibition also includes archive sketches, patterns, photographs, fabric samples and catwalk footage and explores Balenciaga’s influence on a generation of 20th century designers, and beyond.

• Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion, Bendigo Art Gallery, 17 August – 10 November, 2019. bendigoartgallery.com.au