Where Fashion Resides

Fashion and history are terms rarely used together. Well, everyone wants to look their best, no matter the era. Fashion has a wide and intriguing history, but that topic is for another time. Today is dedicated to the places where fashion is preserved, namely the Museums where history is stored. Over the years many fashion enthusiasts all over the world have built museums that pay a tribute to fashion in their own way.

Cristóbal Balenciaga

The list of museums is quite long, but at the moment The Balenciaga Museum in Getaria, Spain caught our attention. The great Spanish Designer Cristóbal Balenciaga inspired this museum, which was launched in June, 2011. At the end of the nineteenth century Balenciaga was born in the Basque town of Getaria, Spain. Balenciaga’s father was the captain of a ferryboat and his mother was a seamstress. The presence of royalty in Spain during that time had made the area fashionable and Balenciaga’s mother was patronized by the local aristocrats.  

Cristóbal Balenciaga during his younger days

Balenciaga was expected to follow his uncle’s footsteps and become a priest, but it was his mother’s world that fascinated him. He would watch the beautiful women his mother would cater to, out of which Marquesa de Casa Torres was his favourite. At the age of thirteen he asked Marquesa if he could design an outfit for her. She indulged his request and was pleased with the result. This was his break and acquired his own patrons during his adolescence. Through Marquesa’s support he left grammar school to study tailoring and at 23 he opened his own house in San Sebastián. A little later he not only expanded his business, but even started to cater to the royals, like Queen Ena herself.

       

           

He staged his first runway show on August 1937, and Vogue called his show, “artfully cut little black dresses, their sobriety relieved by flattering twist of pearls at the neck.” He dramatically revolutionized the fashion scene when he altered the female silhouette by broadening the shoulders and removing the waist. This is reflected in his creations of the tunic dresses, chemise dresses, baby-doll and balloon skirts. 

The designer enjoyed an extensive and creative career and had his share of drama. He is still remembered as a couturier that had uncompromising standards and his signature style was the bubble skirts and feminine yet ultra-modern shapes. He was known to manipulate the relationship between his clothing and a woman’s body through the flexibility of his silhouettes. ‘The House of Balenciaga’ is where his legacy is still alive.

Balenciaga’s museum tells stories of beautiful Spanish landscapes, bullfighters, fishermen and the Catholicism of the country through his fabled designs. 

The Balenciaga Museum became the only Museum to be dedicated to a sole designer, which he deserves. The Museum houses some of his best works that include the wedding dress of Queen Fabiola of Belgium. 

A fashion aspirant should not miss the chance of visiting The Balenciaga Museum and should know about the designer who is considered the ‘Spanish Master’ by designers like Christian Dior and Chanel; he truly is the master of Couture!