Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion

A few weeks ago I visited the new Balenciaga exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion. Open now until the 18th February, 2018, this exhibition explores the great Cristobal Balenciaga's early fashion career as a designer, leading into the 1950s and 60s where he established himself as one of the most respected and admired couturiers the world has ever seen. Even the formidable Christian Dior was a fan, stating, "Haute Couture is like an orchestra, for which only Balenciaga is the conductor. The rest of us are just musicians, following the directions he gives us." 

His visionary designs, all loose shapes and sculptural silhouettes, marked him out as a fashion designer well ahead of his team, in an age when women were still squeezing themselves into Dior's feminine flower dresses. This exhibition highlights Balenciaga's extraordinary talent with an array of his most famous pieces, lent my museums and clients alike. It surprised me to see so many dresses which belonged to Hollywood actress Ava Gardner, but as you learn throughout the exhibition, Gardner was a huge admirer of Balenciaga and had a wardrobe packed full of his couture designs. Jackie Kennedy and Audrey Hepburn were also fans. 

The first floor explores some of Balenciaga's most notable silhouettes from his famous couture presentations as well as sketches made by his chief illustrator (Balenciaga didn't sketch himself, but had illustrators whom he instructed to draw his designs.) You also learn how fanatical he was about sleeves, often loosing his temper if a sleeve wasn't pinned just so. The second floor in the exhibition is almost a homage to Balenciaga. Pieces by designers such as Gareth Pugh, Issey Miyake, Paco Rabanne and  Oscar de la Renta are displayed, showing how much Cristobal Balenciaga influenced their designs. There's also a nice film of Molly Goddard and Gareth Pugh talking about how they're constantly looking at the great couturier's work as a form of inspiration and guidance, highlighting just how important Balenciaga was a fashion designer. His impact upon fashion today is still remarkable with current creative director of Balenciaga, Gvasalia Demna constantly referencing his archived work in his current collections. 

I strongly recommend taking a trip to the V&A to see this one. It's worth it. And I liked how you also got to try on a replica skirt from one of Balenciaga's old couture collections. The V&A always curate wonderful exhibitions and Shaping Fashion doesn't disappoint. 

Haute couture is like an orchestra, for which only Balenciaga is the conductor. The rest of us are just musicians, following the directions he gives us
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/c/christiand636665.html

Haute couture is like an orchestra, for which only Balenciaga is the conductor. The rest of us are just musicians, following the directions he gives us.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/c/christiand636665.html

Haute couture is like an orchestra, for which only Balenciaga is the conductor. The rest of us are just musicians, following the directions he gives us.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/c/christiand636665.html