Balenciaga the brand
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1918 saw Cristobal Balenciaga open the doors to his eponymous haute couture house in San Sebastian, Spain. Great admiration was generated for Balenciaga’s early work, however, the rise of the Spanish civil war forced Balenciaga to close his stores within his homeland and flee to Paris, where he successfully opened his flagship store located on Avenue George V.
Following his arrival in 1937, Balenciaga’s success in Paris was almost instantaneous; the Parisian press lauded his first collection and within two years Balenciaga was heralded as a revolutionary and his designs were coveted and highly sought after.
Regarded by his contemporaries as the couturier of couturiers’, Balengiaga effectively transformed the female silhouette as he broadened the shoulders of his garments and removed the waist. Regarded as revolutionary, Balenciaga sidestepped the hourglass shape popularised by his contemporary, Christian Dior, instead favouring simplified, fluid lines featuring dropped waists and an emphasis on comfort. His Sack and Tunic dresses epitomise his manipulation of fashions of the era and proved to be a stark contrast to the restrictive, nipped in, waspish waists fashioned by the New Look.
However, after 30 years of being lauded as an innovator of the fashion industry, Cristobal Balenciaga finally closed the doors to his couture house in 1968 seeking retirement.
Following his death in 1972, The House of Balenciaga was acquired by Hoechst, who kept the fashion house dormant until 1986, when the rights were subsequently handed over to the Group, Jacques Bogart who in turn launched a new ready to wear line entitled le Dix.
The House of Balenciaga was once again thrust to the forefront of fashion when Nicolas Ghesquiere was appointed to the role of creative designer in1997. Like Balenciaga, Ghesquiere is a self-taught designer who apprenticed to both Jean Paul Gaultier and Agnes B. Ghesquiere’s fresh take on classic designs such as the semi fitted jacket and sack dress caught the eye of the media as well as numerous influential celebrities, thus once again reinstating The House of Balenciaga’s prowess. Ghesquiere’s talent and creativity was recognised in 2006 when Time Magazine elected him one of the world’s 100 most influential people.
Following the instatement of Nicolas Ghesquiere and its acquisition by the Gucci group, the past decade has bore witness to the House of Balenciaga undergoing a rejuvenation. Over recent years the brand has introduced several capsule collections including Balenciaga Knits, Balenciaga Pants, Balenciaga Silks, Balenciaga Denim, Balenciaga Black Dress and Balenciaga Leathers. The fashion house has also launched both an accessories and men’s ready-to-wear line. However it appears that today the brand is most famous for its line of iconic handbags seen on the arms of several fashion forward celebrities including Kate Moss and Nicole Richie.
Classic Balenciaga Styles
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A Balenciaga handbag is arguably one of the most sought after commodities in the fashion world. Since Balenciaga’s bag shapes are simple and iconic, it allows for the ever-changing leather shades to take precedence.
Hailed as the ‘it’ bag of 2001, the Balenciaga Lariat Handbag has a huge celebrity following and this designer bag is a great favourite with fashion queen Kate Moss. Sometimes known as ‘Le Dix’, the Larait is inspired by fringed bikers clothing and is now regarded as highly sought-after and collectable. Made of goat hide, the leather of the Larait is distressed to allow for a somewhat crumpled appearance, thus suggesting the wearer is a long standing advocate of Balenciaga, despite possibly only purchasing the handbag that day.
Several examples of Balenciaga’s iconic handbags include: The Balenciaga Lune Handbag, The Balenciaga Lariat Handbag, The Balenciaga Giant Handbag, The Balenciaga Arena Handbag, The Balenciaga Boston Handbag, The Balenciaga Cherche Midi Handbag and The Balenciaga Motorcycle Handbag.
The handbags are crafted from soft vintage lamb or goatskin and feature either aged brass hardware or Palladium plated metal hardware. Handles are hand stitched and each bag features a leather framed hand mirror, fine textile lining as well as an interior zipped pocket with Balenciaga engraved plaque.
A series of Zip Coin and Giant purses have been designed to accompany the handbags. Crafted from a soft vintage lambskin, the purses feature aged brass hardware and fine textile lining with front zip pocket. Available colours include: Raisin, Charcoal Grey, Black, Palm Tree, Storm and Pebble.
