PRATIM DEB FASHION CONSULTANT
Content PREFACE About PARIS AND HAUTE COUTURE Golden Age TIMELINE COLLECTIONS PROMOTIONAL STRATEGIES AFTERWORLD: AGE OF TOMORROW toe shoes BIBLIOGRAPHY
PREFACE The purpose of this report is to study and analyze Balenciaga as a brand and its business and marketing communications. Balenciaga is a luxury fashion house founded in 1917 by Spanish designer, Cristobal Balenciaga in San Sebastian, Spain, currently based in Paris, France.
“The Fashion Titan,” “the only real couturier,” “The Sculptor-Tailor,” “our teacher,” “the architect of haute couture,” These are just some of the names that many important figures of the fashion world such as Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Hubert de Givenchy, Oscar de La Renta, André Courrèges, Emanuel Ungaro, etc., used to define one of the greatest talents of the haute couture: Cristóbal Balenciaga. Not only did he revolutionize the history of fashion by shaking up the concepts of femininity and feminine silhouette, but he also pushed fashion beyond its edges creating works of art that can’t be classified.
About (Beginning) Cristóbal Balenciaga was born in 1895 in a small village in Getaria, Spain. At only 11 years old, he was already working as an apprentice with a tailor in his Country improving year by year his designing and tailoring skills. At the age of 12, he opened his first shop in San Sebastián. After that, he landed in Madrid and Barcelona. Because of the Civil War, he had to move to Paris where, in 1937, he opened his atelier in Avenue George V, on the third floor of Palazzo Borghese.
Cristobal balenciaga (1895-1972)
HAUTE COUTURE Balenciaga made Paris become “the theatre” of his talent and timeless style. Even if he was an avant-garde and a visionary, he never forgot his origins: characteristic elements of his country such as lace, the Bolero lace and the contrast between red and black always remained in his collections. His first line was inspired by the Spanish Renaissance, while the following one took inspiration from the Princess of Spain’s clothes, portrayed by the artist Diego Velasquez, and from the boleros worn by Spanish bullfighters.
Fashion Sketch by Cristobal balenciaga Source: Pinterest
The Golden Age 1950-60's, these two decades represented for Christóbal the years of revelation that would elevate him as one of the most illustrious masters of Art Costume. In this period, when femininity was manifested through tapering shapes of the corseted clothes and the “wheeled” skirts of Christian Dior’s New Look, Balenciaga instead unleashed his genius by going towards a different direction: his mission was to free the body through volumes, symmetries, and chromatic contrasts. black silk gazar cocktail dress designed by Cristobal Balenciaga is completely timeless. The dress has a round neckline, long sleeves with deep ruffles, a dropped waist and a full skirt over a tight straight skirt.
1937
1917 Timeline
Cristobal Balenciaga opens his haute couture House in San Sebastian, Spain.
1947 Creation of the first Balenciaga perfume: "Le Dix”.
1953 Waistlines drop to hip level transforming the silhouette.
Opens his fashion House at 10 Avenue George V in Paris. Presentation of his first collection greeted with success.
1951 Creation of the Vareuse and “Cocoon” line.
1955 Collaboration with Robert Goossens on a jewelry line.
1952 Launch of his first boxy suits. Creation of the “Parachute” dress.
1958 Creation of the “Baby Doll” dresses and the gazar d’Abraham fabric. awarded the Legion of Honor.
Suits are presented with short jackets and higher waistlines. “Amphore” line.
Creation of costumes for the play “Orphée” by Jean Cocteau.
1965 Creation of the “Pétale” dress.
2001 Kering acquires Balenciaga House.
1963
1961
1959
Creation of the “Sari” dress. Launches a range of boots presented with his sports outfits,
1968
1997 Nicolas Ghesquière becomes the Creative Director of the House.
Presents his last collection, and retired to his house in Spain after 30 years of innovation in the fashion industry.
2004 Introduction of the Men ready-to-wear and accessories collection.
2012 Alexander Wang is appointed Creative Director of the House.
2015 Demna Gvasalia is appointed Artistic Director of the collections.
Collections This is the oldest known model to date made by Balenciaga. The couturier’s training and his mastery in dressmaking from a tender age are evident in this tailored suit worn by Salvadora Egaña Balenciaga on her honeymoon.
Tailored suit (1912) Source: artsandculture.com
Collections In this coat, made in San Sebastian, Balenciaga evoked the lines that define the Japanese kimono, one of the most influential garments in European fashion of the twenties. In perfect tune with the aesthetics of those years, the wide turndown collar and the sleeve cuffs were adorned with ermine fur.
Coat -based on shape of triangle (1927) Source: Artsandculture.com
Collections Fascinated by English tailoring, Balenciaga was also deeply influenced by the great couturiers of Paris. He attended to the tastes of his clients. He in particular admired the work of Gabrielle Chanel, Madame Vionnet and Louise Boulanger. This coat is one of the few remaining garments with the EISA B.E. label, used by Cristóbal Balenciaga in his houses in San Sebastian, Madrid and Barcelona between 1933 and 1936. The coat shows the influence that Madame Vionnet had in the master’s training, both in the patterns and in the outer finish.
Evening Dress Design by Cristobal Balenciaga, 1935 Source: Fashionencyclopedia.com
Collections This piece, made in the workshops of San Sebastian, displays a complex pattern. The back and the sleeves are cut in one piece, reproducing the typical sleeve of Chinese clothing, which finishes at the cuff in the shape of a horse’s hoof. In his later creations, Balenciaga would prefer the French three-quarter-length sleeve which showed the wrists..
Jacket (1930) by Cristóbal Balenciaga Source: Artsandculture.com
Collections Balenciaga was a master of illusion. The waist could be strategically low, it could be brought up to the ribs, or it could be concealed in a tunic or the subtle opposition of a boxy top over a straight skirt. Balenciaga envisioned the garment as a three-dimensional form encircling the body, occasionally touching it and even grasping it, but also spiraling away so the contrast in construction was always between the apparent freedom of the garment and its bodydefining moments. Design by Cristobal Balenciaga, 1954. Source: Fashionencyclopedia.com
Collections This full evening coat of American Beauty red velvet has melon or pumpkin sleeves. A double circular cape collar conceals where the front is gathered at the neck and the short back yoke to which a full back is gathered. The tremendous balloon sleeves attach to a turnback cuff.
Evening coat (1950) by Cristóbal Balenciaga Source: Artsandculture.com
MARKETING STRATEGIES The creative director of Balenciaga, Demna Gvasalia, has created meme products that are selling out worldwide. (Bansal I. 2020) meme-baiting or meme marketing is when a piece of artwork or other striking visual is created and used as a bait to get others to opt-in and share, with the sole objective of giving the original brand or product a boost in reach and attention. (Bansal I. 2020) By adopting this marketing strategy, Balenciaga managed to not only speak well with the meme-fluent audience: Millennials (who now represent more than 60% of the label’s consumers) but also made the brand more accessible. (Bansal I. 2020) IKEA BAG : $ 2145 T-SHIRT SHIRT: $1295 Source: Thestrategystory.com
Afterworld: age of tomorrow
Luxury fashion company Balenciaga will debut its next clothing collection in a video game on December 6th,2021. Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow is an “allegorical adventure” set in the year 2031, in which “a hero avatar advances throughout distinct zones, motivated by tasks and interactions.”
Source: wwd.com
TOE SHOES Balenciaga’s collaboration with Vibram (a.k.a. FiveFinger shoes) is officially shoppable on e-commerce platforms. While the world is probably more familiar with the flat version beloved by outdoorsy types for its grip, Balenciaga made the incarnation its own using a spring, which the house describes as a “heavy-duty suspension heel.” (Stanstein L. 2020)
Source: VOGUE.com
Bibliography Stanstein L. 2020. Balenciaga’s Toe Shoe Heels Are Finally Here [online] https://www.vogue.com/article/balenciaga-toe-shoe-heels-to-buy [Accessed at: 21/1/2021] Prant D. 2020. Balenciaga Takes At-Home Essentials Out of the House [ONLINE] Yahoo.News [Accessed at: 20/1/2021] Bansal I. 2020 How Meme Marketing has helped Balenciaga achieve success [online] https://thestrategystory.com/2020/07/02/meme-marketing-balenciaga/ [Accessed at 18/01/21] [Anon] 2021. history [online] https://www.kering.com/en/houses/couture-and-leathergoods/balenciaga/history/ [Accessed at: 31/12/20] [Anon] FQ 2021. A short history of: Balenciaga [online] https://www.fq.co.nz/gallery/shorthistory-balenciaga/ [Accessed at: 30/12/2020] [Anon] THE HISTORY OF BALENCIAGA IN 6 POINTS [Online] https://www.theitalianreve.com/thehistory-of-balenciaga-in-6-points/ [Accessed at: 28/12/20]