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 Coco Chanel
once said, «Fashions pass, style remains». This maxim is one of the fashion's
most famous for a reason - it's true. And it has never been more so in case of
Spanish fashion. Spanish fashion is a wondrous medley of beauty, style, lines,
cuts and silhouettes in myriads of colors and bold striking prints. Spanish
style is the style of outwardly reserved and inwardly passionate Donnas and Dons
which can be best defined by the word «gorgeous» as in «gorgeous designs by Cristobal
Balenciaga». His dresses are timeless, and as good wine, they only get better
with age. Balenciaga was not only a fashion designer, but an engineer and an
architect, as he once said, «A couturier must be: an architect for design, a
sculptor for safe, a painter for color, a musician for harmony and philosopher
for temperance».
This
Spanish fashion designer had a reputation as a couturier of uncompromising
standards and was regarded as «the master of us all» by Christian Dior. His
designs inspired the fashion industry throughout the twentieth century and
continue to influence today.
His cut was
so perfect that he never wasted a centimeter of fabric; he ironed the clothes
he designed and even did some sewing himself (it was Balenciaga's tradition to
include in each of his 93 fashion collections a black dress he had made all by himself).
Balenciaga's
choice of colors was rather conventional, mostly limited to the traditional
Spanish palette: lots of black, brown and bottle green, with inclusions of purple
and fiery red. Balenciaga's trademarks include bubble skirts, odd, feminine yet
modern shapes. His first runway show in 1937 featured designs heavily
influenced by the Spanish Renaissance and won immediate success. During the
Second World War, Balenciaga 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.
Wealthy
women the world over soon made breathless trips to his atelier seeking his
lustrous black dresses, even risking travel to Europe during the war years. Balenciaga's
list of clients included the best dressed women of his time: the queen of Spain
and Belgium, the Duchess of Windsor, Princess Grace of Monaco, and Countess Mona
von Bismarck among others. One longtime patron, Countess Mona von Bismarck,
ordered 150 dresses in one sitting. 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.
However, Balenciaga's
penchant for decoration soon melted away, his silhouettes loosened and what
there was of an overdramatized rivalry with Christian Dior ended without
injury. And thus began Balenciaga's real legacy: extreme unfussiness.
Balenciaga owned
his fashion house, and after his retirement in 1968 the Balenciaga House was
closed. Currently it is owned by Gucci
that revived its former glory with young and controversial Nicolas Ghesquiere.
It is rumored that Gucci Group put pressure of Ghesquiere and even threatened
to replace him if Balenciaga could not be profitable.
Ghesquire's
futuristic fabric research with shades of saris shocks our eyes and hearts, and
reminds us what fashion is. His design is personal and sexy. He knows how to
use color to evoke Saint Laurent, how to express his style in a modern
interpretation.
It is
interesting that Paco Rabanne, second most prominent Spanish designer, is the
son of a dressmaker at Balenciaga fashion house. In 1965 he debuted with «12
experimental and unwearable dresses in contemporary materials», a collection
title that sounds more like a manifesto, in rhodoid and metal, clips and
soldered materials. Then the collections followed one after another, with
leather, metal and fabric tending to become increasingly fluid.
It was not
until the 1990s that Paco Rabanne created his first women's ready-to-wear line,
which held an enshrined modernity. In perfect harmony with the Haute Couture
creations, this new line took a proud stand for modernity with its innovative
material, elegant simplicity, spicy femininity, and essential look.
Here they
are - two legendary Spanish designers who uncompromisingly put their beautiful country
on the map of world fashion.
So similar
in their nature, so different in style.
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