Balenciaga (clothing brand)

Balenciaga logo

Balenciaga is a luxury fashion house established in 1919 by Cristóbal Balenciaga in San Sebastian, Spain. Nowadays, the company is headquartered in Paris. The current owner of the brand is Kering. Balenciaga's clients included Spanish royalty and aristocracy, but when the Spanish Civil War forced Balenciaga to close his shops, he moved to Paris.

The popularity of Balenciaga was so great that even during the Second World War, customers, risking their safety, came to Paris to see his new products. It was not until the post-war years, however, that the full scope of this original designer's ingenuity became apparent. His lines became more linear and sleek, deviating from the hourglass shape popularized by Christian Dior's New Look.  The flexibility of his silhouettes allowed him to manipulate the relationship between clothing and women's bodies.  In 1951, Balenciaga completely changed the silhouette, widening the shoulders and removing the waist. His manipulation of the waist in particular contributed to "what is considered his most important contribution to the world of fashion: a new silhouette for women."

In the 1960s, Balenciaga was an innovator in the use of fabrics: he gravitated toward heavy fabrics, intricate embroidery, and bold materials.  His creations, including stiff satin funnel dresses worn by clients such as writer Pauline de Rothschild philanthropist and collector Bunny Mellon, collector Marella Agnelli, wife and mother of Nicaraguan dictators Somoza Hope Portocarrero, Harper's Bazaar editor in 1963-1971 Gloria Guinness and philanthropist Mona von Bismarck - were considered a model of haute couturein the 1950s and 1960s. In 1960 , he designed a wedding dress for the future Belgian Queen Fabiola. Jackie Kennedy willingly bought expensive Balenciaga creations, upsetting John F. Kennedy, who, as president of the United States, was afraid that the American public might think that spending on purchases was too generous. In the end, Jackie's purchases were quietly paid for by her father-in-law, Joseph Kennedy.

Cristobal Balenciaga closed his fashion house in 1968 and died in 1972. The house was inactive until 1986 when Jacques Bogart SA acquired the rights to the Balenciaga trademark and opened a new ready-to-wear line , Le Dix. The first collection was designed by French stylist Michel Goma in October 1987, who stayed at the house for the next five years. He was replaced in 1992 by Dutch designer Joseph Thimister, who began the restoration of the Balenciaga brand to high fashion elite status. During Thimister's tenure as creative director, French designer Nicolas Ghesquière joined the house, taking over the company himself in 1997  and holding his post for a record fifteen years.

In November 2012, Balenciaga announced it was parting ways with creative director Nicolas Ghesquière, ending his 15-year tenure. The brand announced Alexander Wang as the new creative director. Wang presented his first collection for the brand on 28 February 2013 at Paris Fashion Week. In 2014, the High Court of Paris set a date for the trial of Balenciaga v. Ghesquière. Balenciaga claimed that Ghesquière's comments in System magazine damaged the company's image. The widely publicized lawsuit was heard out of court. In July 2015, Balenciaga announced they were parting ways with creative director Alexander Wang after three years of work. The Spring-Summer 2016 show was his last, featuring white leisure wear made from soft natural fabrics. In early October 2015, the brand appointed Demna Gvasalia as its new creative director.

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