Balenciaga. Manteau du soir
In tribute to the master of couture (1895-1972) and to mark the 40th anniversary of his death, Galliera unveils, with the support of Maison Balenciaga, a collection of fashions passionately assembled by the couturier and generously donated to the museum by his family. On view from April 13 to October 7, 2012 at Les Docks – cité de la Mode et du Design.
Cristobal Balenciaga (1895-1972). Ensemble du soir en velours marron et broderies noires. Collection hiver 1942-43. Galliera, musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris.
Balenciaga. Robe du soir, Automne 1958. Faille de soie beige brodé de fils d’argent et perles. © Stéphane Piera / Galliera / Roger-Viollet
Whalebone bodies and casaquins, satin gowns, velvet boleros, collars and mantelets, gowns with turnings, cashmere stoles, lace mantillas, embroidery and passementerie samples…. All these pieces, often sumptuous, sometimes modest, make up this jumbled collection from the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
More than seventy costumes and items of clothing are displayed alongside some forty haute couture dresses and coats designed by Balenciaga between 1937 and 1968, either from the Galliera collection or on loan from the Maison Balenciaga. Accessories, photos, sketches and books on art and costume complete the collection, which bears witness both to the couturier’s passion for history and to his mastery of a craft he learned as a child from his mother.
Collection privée Cristóbal Balenciaga. Collet, vers 1895. Application de drap de laine et soie noirs sur gros tulle. Ruché de soie noir en bordure. © Eric Emo / Galliera / Roger-Viollet
The scenography, reminiscent of a fashion museum with its long aisles of compactus drawers, presents these treasures of inspiration with archival value. Visitors are invited to explore Cristóbal Balenciaga’s “imaginary museum”: a traditional, folkloric Spain, black and dark colors, the purity of religious and ceremonial garments, the great masters of Spanish painting, and to share the creative intimacy of the “Couturier des couturiers”.
A magnificent exhibition showing the link between folklore and fashion. Balenciaga’s pieces are strikingly modern. The scenography also immerses us in the archive work of the Musée Galliera. A must-see exhibition !!!!
Curator: Olivier Saillard, Director of the Musée Galliera
PRACTICAL INFORMATION :
April 13 – October 7, 2012
Les Docks – cité de la Mode et du Design
34 quai d’Austerlitz
75013 Paris
www.paris-docks-en-seine.fr
Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm, except public holidays.
Group ticket for 2 exhibitions:
Full price: €6
Reduced price: 4.5 €
Youth rate (14-26 yrs): 3 €
Free for under-14s
Access:
Metro: Gare d’Austerlitz, Quai de la Gare, Gare de Lyon
Bus: 24, 57, 61, 63, 89, 91
Cette publication est également disponible en : Français (French)
