Balenciaga in Victoria and Albert Museum
Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion is the first exhibition in the United Kingdom honouring the Spanish couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga and his firm, which has remained on the top list of haute couture over the years.
Audrey Hepburn, Ava Gardner or Jackie Kennedy were some of the stars who wore his designs, as well as queens, princesses and thousands of lucky women who were able to live his magic spirit in relation to fashion.
The Maison Balenciaga was able to inspire important fashion designers such as Coco Channel or Christian Dior, who said that ‘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’.
The exhibition counts with more than one hundred items consisting of dresses and hats. Most of them were designed by Balenciaga between the 1950 and the 1960, his most creative period in his life. In this exposition you can also find sketches, patterns and exclusive pictures of the Maison. Apart from this, you will be able to discover the unknown details about some of his designs thanks to the innovative studies made with X-ray technology.
Victoria and Albert Museum is a mandatory stop in London for fashion lovers. If you are one of them, you have time to visit Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion until the 18th February. The exhibition was inaugurated last May coinciding with the centenary of the first Balenciaga shop in San Sebastián and the 80th anniversary of his shop in Paris. Take advantage of this exhibition and get to know first-hand Cristóbal Balenciaga, as well as his contribution to fashion history and his legacy.
Related stops: West End Loop, stops 7 and 8 (Hyde Park Corner and Hyde Park).