Haute times: Spanish designers
As couturiers in France, Italy and England pushed style
to a wider market in the 20thcentury, Spain did its
best to keep up, producing a clutch of successful
designers.Two designers, Mariano Fortuny and
Cristóbal Balenciaga, did particularly well, paving the
way for future talent and establishing the Spanish
fashion industry that thrives today. Here are five big
names to look out for:
Cristóbal Balenciaga.The son of a Basque fisherman,
Balenciaga learned dressmaking from his mother in the
first years of the 20thcentury. In 1915, with the financial
help of the Marquesa de CasaTorres, he set up his own
tailoring business, opening three couture shops within
Spain.Two decades later he presented his first
collection in Paris, relocating there in the midst of the
Civil War. Avoiding ostentation, Balenciaga combined
Parisian glamour with Spanish tradition to create classic
timeless designs. His little black dress has been fondly
replicated and reinvented since the first incarnation back
in 1940. He was lauded for altering the traditional
silhouette of the female form, offering women a more
forgiving dress shape. In 1947 Balenciaga created the
Cocon line, characterized by short embroidered
bullfighter jackets for eveningwear.The Spanish
influence was also present in his dresses.
Mariano Fortuny. Born in Granada in 1871, the son
of a painter, but moved to France and then Venice by
his mother at a young age, Fortuny opened a Paris
couture house in 1906. It lasted four decades, during
which time he became known for the Delphos gown
and Knossos scarf, inspired by the fashions of ancient
Greece.
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building blocks of
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and philosophy
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architecture
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arts
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and fashion
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the details of
In the 1940s Christian
Dior described Cristóbal
Balenciaga as “the master
of us all”. Others called
him “the couturier of
couturiers”.
House arrest
Balenciaga closed his
Parisian couture house
in 1968, miffed about the
growth of off-the-peg
clothing. Countess Mona
Bismarck, a loyal client,
apparently locked herself
indoors for three days
of mourning. After his
death the house was
resurrected. Today, owned
by Gucci, it remains a
global superstar under
the guidance of French
designer Nicolas
Ghesquière.
