Description

A life of the amazing designer Cristóbal BalenciagaWhen Cristóbal Balenciaga died in 1972, the news headlines hit the leading page of The Brand New York Times. Among the state-of-the-art and respected figures in the real history of haute-couture, Balenciaga was, said Schiaparelli, “the only developer who dares do what he likes.” He was, said Christian Dior,“the grasp people all.”  But despite his remarkable effect, Balenciaga was a guy concealed from view. Unlike today’s superstar developers, he saw to it that little was known about him, to the stage that some French correspondents questioned if he existed at all. Actually his most memorable and dedicated clients—Marlene Dietrich, Barbara Hutton, a clutch of Rothschilds—never fulfilled him.