Balenciaga, Cristóbal

Ba·len·ci·a·ga (bə-lĕn'sē-äʹgə), Cristóbal. 1895-1972.

Spanish fashion designer noted for his stark, elegant designs.

* * *

born Jan. 21, 1895, Guetaria, Spain

died March 23, 1972, Valencia

Spanish-French fashion designer.

He studied dressmaking as a child and was inspired to become a couturier by a visit to Paris. By age 20 he had his own firm in San Sebastián. Over the next 15 years Balenciaga became the leading couturier of Spain. In 1937, when the Spanish Civil War disrupted his business, he moved to Paris. For the next 30 years his collections featured sumptuously elegant dresses and suits. Balenciaga helped popularize the trend toward capes and flowing clothes without waistlines in the late 1950s as well as the use of plastic for rainwear in the mid 1960s. He retired in 1968.

* * *

▪ Spanish designer

born Jan. 21, 1895, Guetaria, Spain

died March 23, 1972, Valencia

 Spanish dress designer who created elegant ball gowns and other classic designs.

      Balenciaga began seriously studying dressmaking at the age of 10, when the death of his father, a sea captain, made it necessary for his mother to support the family by sewing. His first trip to Paris at 15 inspired him to become a couturier, and by age 20 he had his own dressmaking establishment at the fashionable summer resort of San Sebastián in Spain.

      In the next 15 years Balenciaga became the leading couturier of Spain. In 1937, when the Spanish Civil War disrupted his business, he moved to Paris. For the next 30 years his collections featured sumptuously elegant dresses and suits. Balenciaga helped popularize the trend toward capes and flowing clothes without waistlines in the late 1950s and the use of plastic for rainwear in the mid-1960s. In 1968 the house of Balenciaga closed, and he retired.

* * *