"Balenciaga. Designing the limits" @ Bilbao Fine Arts Museum

Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Cristóbal Balenciaga, 1950.

Le Musée des Beaux Arts de Bilbao vient d’inaugurer une exposition dédiée au couturier Cristobal Balenciaga (Bilbao 1895-Valence 1972, Espagne), un des personnages les plus influents de l’histoire de la mode.

Balenciaga avait ouvert son premier atelier à San Sebastian en 1913 et depuis 1937 jusqu’en mai 1968, il disposait d’une boutique à Paris qui lui avait permis de se convertir en référence dans le milieu de la mode, en constante recherche d’un idéal de perfection et d’élégance.

L’exposition présente une quarantaine de créations couture, issues de la collection appartenant au Gouvernement Basque, puis celle de la Fondation Balenciaga ainsi que deux collections privées provenant du Pays Basque et de Madrid.

Les robes de Balenciaga, raffinées et de bon goût, définissent les contours d’une femme élégante en rehaussant sa féminité. La beauté géométrique des coupes et l’harmonie chromatique surprendront le spectateur dans un montage dédié à l’un des meilleurs couturiers de l’âge d’or de la haute-couture.

One of the designs by Basque fashionist Balenciaga

Cristóbal Balenciaga (Guetaria, Guipúzcoa, 1895–Jávea, Alicante, 1972) is one of the most outstanding creative talents in fashion history. In 1913 he opened his own workshop in San Sebastián and from 1937 to May 1968 he had a boutique in Paris, where he became a benchmark figure in haute couture, tirelessly pursuing his ideal of perfection and elegance.

The exhibition shows some forty couture pieces from the Basque regional government’s collection, the Balenciaga Foundation and two private collections in the Basque Country and Madrid. Rather than trying to give a fashion-eye overview of Balenciaga’s work and creations, the itinerary running through different areas of the Museum aims to stimulate the spectator into thinking about the role of fashion and clothing in individual and group identity: delineating physical and social limits, Balenciaga’s dresses may be said to frame the women that wear them. His creations transform their wearers into elegant females who hide their individual femininity beneath the armour of good taste and refined form. The geometric beauty of the cut and the extraordinary chromatic harmony will astound the spectator in this exceptional show that focuses on one of the best fashion designers from the golden age of haute couture.

_{In the image (From left to right):
Cocktail dress with overskirt in blue and black printed Ikat Ottoman, 1957. The Cristóbal Balenciaga Foundation
Evening gown and short cape in blue gazar, 1966.The Cristóbal Balenciaga Foundation
Black crêpe evening dress with one strap over the left shoulder, 1967. Deposited by the Basque Government}