subject: The History Of Balenciaga [print this page] The son of a sailor and a dressmaker, Cristobel Balenciaga was born in Guetaria, Spain in 1885. It was clear at an early age that Cristobel possessed a flair for making clothes and in 1897 he was apprenticed to a tailor in San Sebastian. At the age of 19 he secured employment with Calle de Hernani, a designer of ladies gowns. In 1919 Cristobal opened the doors to his very first fashion house in the Spanish city of San Sebastian. Expansion was rapid and before long there were also branches in Barcelona and Madrid. His designs found particular favour with the both the Spanish royalty and the aristocracy. San Sebastian was considered a fashionable seaside resort frequented by the likes of the Empress and Queen Mother. Cristobel would often visit the Palace of Miramar for gown fittings
The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 forced Balenciaga to close his stores and prompted him to move to Paris, which even then was considered the world's fashion capital. Balenciaga was right in his element here as he found himself in the company of other famous designers like Coco Chanel.
During his first runway show in Paris in 1937, Balenciaga put a Spanish Renaissance influenced collection on display. It took barely two years for him to be praised as a revolutionary force in fashion. Clients even risked the dangers of travel during the Second World War to visit Europe just to gaze upon the designer's work. It was once said that when a women walked into a room wearing a Balenciaga gown, there was no other women there. Within a year, all the ladies of fashion were seen in Balenciaga gowns. His well known square coat design was one of the highlights during this period.
In 1947 he created his first perfume, called Le Dix, soon to be followed by La Fuite Des Heures in 1949.
In the early 1950s he produced yet another revolution in the fashion world by dropping the waistlines and widening the shoulders of his creations, radically transforming the silhouette. It was a dramatic departure from the rigid hourglass shapes made popular by Christian Dior. Considered ahead of his time in his vision of design, he produced the first evening dress in 1957 showing bare leg right to the knee, well before the mini skirt became the fashion of the 60s.
His most loyal clients continued to include the rich and the famous, most notably the likes of the Duchess of Windsor and Pauline de Rothschild.
Cristobal Balenciaga died on March 24, 1972 in Javea, Spain. Throughout his career he was referred to as the "Master" because of the elegance and perfection of his designs.
In 1986 Jacques Bogart obtained the rights to Balenciaga. Currently the Balenciaga brand is owned by Gucci.
