BALENCIAGA

Balenciaga

 Right off the bat, it is a fun word to say. Balenciaga. Say it with an accent or with attitude and you'll notice its fun. Moving on.. I'm here to tell you what Balenciaga is all about. The fashionably educated already knows what Balenciaga is, so you my fashion nerdies, you can scroll down. Those who don't know what Balenciaga is, stay tuned.

Balenciaga is a fashion house founded by Cristóbal Balenciaga, a Spanish designer, born in the Basque Country, Spain. He had a reputation as a couturier of uncompromising standards and was referred to as "the master of us all" by Christian Dior. His bubble skirts and odd, feminine, yet ultra-modern shapes were trademarks of the house. The house of Balenciaga is now owned by the French multinational company PPR.

    History

Cristóbal Balenciaga opened his first boutique in San Sebastián, Spain in 1918, which expanded to include branches in Madrid and Barcelona. The Spanish royal family and the aristocracy wore his designs, but when the Spanish Civil War forced him to close his stores, Balenciaga moved to Paris.
Balenciaga opened his Paris couture house on Avenue George V in August 1937, and his first runway show featured designs heavily influenced by the Spanish Renaissance. Balenciaga's success in Paris was nearly immediate. Within two years, the French press lauded him as a revolutionary, and his designs were highly sought-after. Carmel Snow, the editor of Harper's Bazaar was an early champion of his designs.
Customers risked their safety to travel to Europe during World War II to see Balenciaga's clothing. During this period, he was noted for his "square coat," with sleeves cut in a single piece with the yoke, and for his designs with black (or black and brown) lace over bright pink fabric.
However, it was not until the post-war years that the full scale of the inventiveness of this highly original designer became evident. His lines became more linear and sleek, diverging from the hourglass shape popularized by Christian Dior's "New Look". The fluidity of his silhouettes enabled him to manipulate the relationship between his clothing and women's bodies. In 1951, he totally transformed the silhouette, broadening the shoulders and removing the waist. In 1955, he designed the tunic dress, which later developed into the chemise dress of 1958. Other contributions in the postwar era included the spherical balloon jacket (1953), the high-waisted baby doll dress (1957), the cocoon coat (1957), the balloon skirt (1957), and the sack dress (1957). In 1959, his work culminated in the Empire line, with high-waisted dresses and coats cut like kimonos. His manipulation of the waist, in particular, contributed to "what is considered to be his most important contribution to the world of fashion: a new silhouette for women."
In the 1960s, Balenciaga was an innovator in his use of fabrics: he tended toward heavy fabrics, intricate embroidery, and bold materials. His trademarks included "collars that stood away from the collarbone to give a swanlike appearance" and shortened "bracelet" sleeves. His often spare, sculptural creations—including funnel-shape gowns of stiff duchess satin worn to acclaim by clients such as Pauline de Rothschild, Bunny Mellon, Marella Agnelli, Gloria Guinness and Mona von Bismarck—were considered masterworks of haute couture in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1960 he designed the wedding dress for Queen Fabiola of Belgium made of ivory duchess satin trimmed with white mink at the collar and the hips. Jackie Kennedy famously upset John F. Kennedy for buying Balenciaga's expensive creations while he was President because he feared that the American public might think the purchases too lavish. Her haute couture bills were eventually discreetly paid by her father-in-law, Joseph Kennedy.
Thanks a bunch, Wikipedia.

Now, the important part: THE LOOKS

Let's take a look at the best part of Balenciaga: THE SHOES

Aren't they just so fun and exciting?

Let's move on to the bags

Nice outfit Kim! What do you guys think of her hair color here? I like it.

The bags aren't as fun as the shoes. Perhaps that is a good thing. If they were as outrageous as the shoes, the complete look would be to.. over the top. And not in a good way. 

So you've seen the bags and the shoes. Now, we will take a look at the sunglasses. 

Hi Gaga! The circular framed Balenciaga glasses look great. Especially with the bow. 

The sunglasses are fun! They're very trendy and a little wacky but very fashionable and dynamic. The glasses, the bag and shoes make up an impressive, super trendy and fun outfit. But... what would actually be worn? Let's cover that. But before, let's get to the advertisements. I'm sure you've already read the Miu Miu entry and I'm sorry to say that the advertisements aren't as fun. Nothing beats the Miu Miu ads. 

As you can see, the advertisements don't seem to be their main focus. How sad. I must say, you'd think the advertisements would be more fun and exciting, considering they're shoes and sunglasses, but no. The advertisements portray Balenciaga as very high class and very.. boring! Balenciaga is certainly more trendy than it is modern. Don't you agree? You aren't advertising the Hermes Birkin bag. You are advertising the Balenciaga City bag. Balenciaga is no Chanel or Burberry.  Although Balenciaga is very established, it should follow in the steps of Miu Miu or Marc Jacobs and make their ads more visually appealing. After all, isn't everything based on the visuals? Its all marketing. I'm not saying it has to be as sexually focused as Tom Ford. Actually, it doesn't have to be sexy at all. The clothing, shoes, make up, bags and sunglasses are already sexy enough on their own. Question: but do older and well established fashion houses need to maintain their classy reputation? What would happen if Chanel went young, hip and classy? Karl Lagerfeld would never permit that to happen, but what if it did? I think it is a very interesting thing to think about: New VS. Old. Changing their ways verses keeping them the same. Why are the new designer labels fun and hip? (Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu for example). I don't know. Have you seen the Burberry Brit ads? They're fun. I like the studded jackets. But that is for another entry. After all, isn't everything based on the visuals? Its all marketing. By the way, I'm not saying that Burberry or Chanel aren't fun. It just seems that they can't hold onto their "high class" name forever. Give it up Chanel. Come on Karl, fashion is the future. Sure, we all love Coco and what she created but create a new image for Chanel. If only I was the Fashion Director of Chanel. But I must ask another question: Why change anything if they are already so successful? Everyone loves Chanel and everyone has always. Changing the Chanel image would only hurt its name, right? It's best to be safe, right? Maybe in Finance, not in Fashion. Did Donatella transform the Versace name by making safe dresses? Or did she take a risk and made sexy and confidence the epitome of the Versace name?  Take YSL for example. YSL revolutionized the fashion world by creating the Women's Pantsuit. And look at YSL now. 

Yves Saint Laurent. 

But wait, didn't Wiki say that Balenciaga took risks as a fashion designer?

"Balenciaga's success in Paris was nearly immediate. Within two years, the French press lauded him as a revolutionary, and his designs were highly sought-after. Carmel Snow, the editor of Harper's Bazaar was an early champion of his designs.

Customers risked their safety to travel to Europe during World War II to see Balenciaga's clothing. During this period, he was noted for his "square coat," with sleeves cut in a single piece with the yoke, and for his designs with black (or black and brown) lace over bright pink fabric."

So, I stick with my idea. Change. Create. Evolve. Take Risks. 

That is how you achieve success. 

That is how Coco and all the other great designers created labels and fashion houses that are the best in the world.

It seems that the fashion world is ever changing and evolving. Trends come and go, but style remains. 

As Lady Gaga says:

CHANEL is a style. 

Fashion goes out of fashion. 

Style never does.

Chanel or not, she is right. Style never changes. Okay Chanel, you can keep your old, classy and fabulous ways. But remember Karl: you are lucky that you design for a very reputable label. 

If Marc Jacobs stayed the same, we wouldn't the difference between Marc Jacobs and Marc Lindener. Exactly.

To achieve great success, you have to forget about the idea of failure.

AND NOW, the moment we have all been waiting for: THE COUTURE!

I'm wondering what you are thinking. Will it be as bright and outrageous as the shoes, glasses and bags? Or will it follow in the footsteps of the advertisements?

You're about to see..

This is a fun ad. 

Great heels. Great colors. Great looks.

Prefall 2011- I LOVE these three looks. I love the black and white color combination. It looks amazing.

2011 Resort shoes. Look at the colors and patterns. The neutral beige 

Here are the Balenciaga 2011 Fall Colors. Great!

So, what do you think? I like it. Balenciaga has a way to make the looks seem fake. Maybe the picture below really does fit the idea of Balenciaga.

Someone tell me why Alice in Wonderland is wearing a Balenciaga dress. Who knew Alice was a fashionista?
I knew I always loved that story.

Before I end the entry, I will cover another important part of Fashion: THE MAKEUP




The makeup is very bold and risky. Super trendy and futuristic. I love it. I'm glad it isn't too colorful. It is light enough to make the look flow smoothly but isn't too subtle to make it look boring.

Well, there you have it. Balenciaga. Love it or hate it, you cannot doubt that it isn't creative, fun and exciting. Balenciaga is certainly my favorite Spanish fashion house.


I will leave you with some questions to think about. Feel free to get back to me with an answer.


1) What would happen if Chanel changed its ways? Success or Failure?

2) Do the advertisements falsely portray Balenciaga?


3) Is Balenciaga more Trendy or Modern?


I LOVE BALENCIAGA