Balenciaga: House Reinvention

The current incarnation of the House of Balenciaga is a lesson in fashion mastery.

For those who are old enough to remember, Cristobal Balenciaga (1895 - 1972) was one of the last masters who learned the secrets of haute couture when there were far more practitioners than today. Key words for the Grand Master of Couture, aka "CB":

- clear lines: a CB silhouette stands apart from any setting
- color: not a mix-master like YSL, but very sure in the use of any color he used
- status: CB was from this last period where heiresses and countesses defined fashion. There is an aristocratic nature to his clothes. We won't go into the often ecclesiastical nature of CB's work for today.

I bring up this rich past because Nicholas
Ghesquière (aka "NG") in many ways follows the same spirit - but adapted for a world that is very different than the stiff social order of CB's day.

Of course there are other success stories among those at the older houses - and quite a few failures as well. But the Balenciaga story, for now, is one of those happy moments in fashion.

- AP