On Thursday, March 30th, 2017, the Fashion Studies Masters’ Class had the chance to visit the Balenciaga Archive in Paris. The class’ aim was to discover past creations, patterns, illustrations, as well as the ephemeral that relates the great Couturier Cristobal Balenciaga (1865-1972) to the current designer of the brand’s contemporary collection Demna Gvasalia.

The group was guided by one of the two permanent managers of the archive. Although operated by a very small team, the collection is of a gargantuan scale, spreading over three floors and a parking lot re-designed to maintain garments under strict temperature and moisture control.

The visit started at the ground floor of the building with accessories created from the Cristobal Balenciaga period (between 1930 and 1965). Statement pieces such as hats, embroideries, shoes, feather work, and leather gloves gave the group an introduction into the pieces inspired by both modernity and the folkloric traditions of Balenciaga’s Spanish origins. Next, the group explored a room full of the entire bag and shoe collections, used in runaways from Balanciaga’s period until now.

Nevertheless the next sets of rooms were full of exceptionally designed and well-preserved garments that revealed the designer’s skilled tailoring techniques. A highlight of our visit was uncovering dresses specifically designed for celebrities, such as the dress Lady Gaga wore at the 2015 Met Gala (also retrievable through the link: http://redcarpet-fashion.com/lady-gaga-in-balenciaga-2015-met-gala/).

In addition, we had the chance to see the iconic Balenciaga hat, which was an accessory to the special wedding gown, created by Cristobal Balenciaga in 1967, constructed only out of two seams. Moreover, we continued to another room, which led us to the contemporary Men’s collections and accessories.

Next, we explored the garment’s fabric components that consisted of a luxurious Organza, Silk, Mohair, Cashmere, etc. From there we moved onto one area of the building, that is situated in a re-designed parking lot by which files, sketches, and the original patterns of Cristobal Balenciaga are maintained meticulously. Also, the furniture of Balenciaga’s first store and other personal objects (early 20th century elevator, chairs, paintings, and mirrors…) are also kept in the archive.

Finally, we were guided through the contemporary collections designed by Nicolas Guesquière and Demna Gvasalia. We discovered the innovative weaving techniques through ultrasounds and their limitations. The archive manager explained that such ultrasound tailoring (innovative seaming) techniques were hard to maintain due to the unpredictability of the fabric’s long-term deterioration.

This visit was a true inspiration. Our explorations were punctuated by the word “amazing” at every dress corner. Essentially we had to find other adjectives to describe the surreal dimension of being surrounded by the works of such a creative genius, Cristobal Balenciaga.

 

Written by Yasmine Sebti, Parsons Paris MA Candidate, 2018.

Edited by Rachel Fenderson, Parsons Paris MA Candidate, 2018.

Photo taken by Parsons Paris Program Director Professor Marco Pecorari for the Curating Fashion Course.