even christian dior bowed to him by saying something in the likes of we do what we can, balenciaga does what he wants.
seeing some of his clothes, albeit none of the most well known ones, in person along with the mesmerizing videos accompanying some of the more dramatic pieces is quite the experience.
first the vids; they begin with a fashion sketch of the piece, then the pattern pieces are shown and finally those pattern pieces are animated in 3D to form the piece. the experience is akin to a mini course in cutting and haute couture. you can really appreciate his mastery with cloth and the craftsmanship involved.
then having the opportunity to photograph the pieces, no flash of course, is another perk. with a tripod you can photograph the whole exhibit with the 50 lux lighting provided.
balenciaga's clothes go beyond couture, they are full of historical references and art history references. it is a well known fact he created many a piece inspired by goya,velasquez and zurbaran and traditional spanish dresses- sad to see that the metropolitan museum of art still quotes him as being french!! you can see zurbaran in his long capes with volumes in the back and the goya majas in some black lace dresess.
he was not only a visionary, but also the total designer dominating the whole creative process from conception to the final stages of the execution, sometimes even designing the fabrics himself.
it is interesting to note how his influence is still present in the avant garde designers in the cuts, the origami way of constructing pieces, the volumes and the decontextualised use of fabrics.
balenciaga's clothes go beyond couture, they are full of historical references and art history references. it is a well known fact he created many a piece inspired by goya,velasquez and zurbaran and traditional spanish dresses- sad to see that the metropolitan museum of art still quotes him as being french!! you can see zurbaran in his long capes with volumes in the back and the goya majas in some black lace dresess.
he was not only a visionary, but also the total designer dominating the whole creative process from conception to the final stages of the execution, sometimes even designing the fabrics himself.
it is interesting to note how his influence is still present in the avant garde designers in the cuts, the origami way of constructing pieces, the volumes and the decontextualised use of fabrics.
the building itself is beautiful restrained architecture full of construction winks to couture
the walls in the atrium are are a rendition of a silk brocade cut out in metal sheeting. the background is blue and the shadows it creates give depth imitating velvet pile. one has to see it!
i found some hilarious details at the museum shop like these two:
clothes for barbie and threads for seamstresses.
any show ends up with the bride, so here it goes:
a gorgeous,yet understated bridal gown in cotton eyelet.not your regular merengue tart bridal gown at all.
more of my photos here
and the v&a collection here
neki desu
What a fabulous designer! You've 'done him proud' in this post.
ReplyDeleteWow, questo museo è assolutamente da visitare.
ReplyDeleteQuando dici 'merengue tart' intendi 'tarte'...o proprio 'tart'?!? (scherzo, naturalmente)