Cristobal Balenciaga (Spanish, 1895–1972)
Pink silk gazar with matching pink feathers
Gift of Louise Rorimer Dushkin, 1980 (1980.338.6)
Cristobal Balenciaga reached widespread fame in the 1950s and '60s among upper-class Americans, though his work was regularly featured on the pages of Parisian Vogue as well. His cantilevered cut was hailed for its accommodating fit, affecting a slimmer silhouette on a curvier form.
Inspired by the flamenco dress, Balenciaga liked gowns that rose at the front and trailed to the back, allowing a dancer's forward motion to fill the cup at the back with air and to whip around animatedly. If Balenciaga's gowns were more genteel, they allowed air entering at the front with a wearer's motion to pull the long back to a billowing volume.
Taking its cue from the dancing dress, this dress was an obvious choice for cocktails, with its lighthearted feather skirt and simple, pared-down construction. By the late 1950s, the etiquette barring bare arms before eight o'clock in the evening was no longer adhered to, allowing a variety of sleeveless and even slightly décolleté pieces to infiltrate the cocktail venue. Undoubtedly worn with a pair of elbow-length gloves and a cocktail hat, this dress falls to the appropriate just-below-the-knee length in front, but has a more formal train. Silk gazar, a mat high-twist textile to which Balenciaga's dresses became inextricably linked, was a wonderful execution for the cocktail hour. Gazar's texture and drape were lavish, but certainly did not exhibit the ostentation of evening wear.
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Artist
- Balenciaga, Cristobal (French, born Spain, 1895–1972)
