Balenciaga Paris
Edited by Pamela Golbin
Art Direction by Fabien Baron
Preface by Hélène David-Weill
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British Book Design and Production Awards
| ‘Without question, the most beautiful and confident fashion book of the year … an essential for anyone interested in either fashion or book design’ | – Colin McDowell,
The Sunday Times |
| ‘A luscious visual history of one of Paris’s greatest fashion houses’ | | – Elle |
| ‘Sumptuously illustrated and immaculately researched’ | | – The Daily Telegraph |
| ‘Beautiful’ | | – Marie Claire |
A good couturier must be an architect for design, a sculptor for shape, a painter for colour, a musician for harmony and a philosopher for temperance – Cristóbal Balenciaga.
This was the profession of faith of the man whom Dior called ‘the master of us all’. Strict, even ascetic, Balenciaga was, with Chanel, Dior and Schiaparelli, one of the icons of the golden age of haute couture. The care he took with a garment’s construction, the perfection of his cut, his choice of materials, textures and colours, including an intense black, gave his vision of fashion and refinement a singular distinction, that became the fashion house’s famous signature.
Having presented his last collection in February 1968, Balenciaga decided to close his salons and to return to live in the country of his birth, Spain. Thirty years later, Nicolas Ghesquière re-established the artistic direction of the house, giving the venture – once thought to be finished – a new lease of life. Universally acclaimed for his freshness of vision, sobriety and a rigour that recalls that of his predecessor, Ghesquière is considered one of the most important creative personalities at work today.
Balenciaga Paris pays homage to this unique fashion enterprise, covering both stellar periods of the house – a span of some 75 years.
With a fascinating collection of photographs, sketches, illustrations and press comments, assembled by Pamela Golbin, curator at the Musée de la Mode et du Textile, the book presents a precise chronology and a detailed account of this two-part journey.
Designed by Fabien Baron, art director of Vogue, and featuring work by some of the finest photographers of our time, including Irving Penn, this publication provides not only the compelling history of one of Paris’s greatest fashion houses, but also constitutes a milestone of book design in its own right.
Pamela Golbin is Curator at the Musée de la Mode et du
Textile, Paris.
Fabien Baron is art director of Vogue.
See the Balenciaga website
Also of interest:
The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of
Fashion and Fashion Designers
Chanel: Collections and Creations
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|  |  | | | | ISBN 0500286493 | | ISBN-13 978-0500286494 | | | | 36.5 x 28.0 cm | | Paperback with Jacket | | 228pp | | Illustrated in colour and black and white throughout | | First published 2006 | | | | £48.00 | | | |  | | | | 
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