Canalblog
Editer l'article Suivre ce blog Administration + Créer mon blog
Publicité
Alain.R.Truong
Alain.R.Truong
Publicité
Visiteurs
Depuis la création 50 862 150
Archives
Newsletter
Alain.R.Truong
8 avril 2011

"Balenciaga and Spain" @ de Young Museum

08_01

SAN FRANCISCO.- The de Young Museum in San Francisco opened Balenciaga and Spain, an exhibition curated by Hamish Bowles, European editor at large of Vogue, featuring 120 haute couture garments, hats, and headdresses designed by Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895–1972). In this image: Opening gallery of Balenciaga and Spain at the de Young Museum in San Francisco through July 4, 2011.

08_02

SAN FRANCISCO.- You can feel the pulse of Spain beat in every garment in Balenciaga and Spain. A dress ruffle inspired by the flourish of a flamenco dancers bata de cola skirt; paillette-studded embroidery that glitters on a bolero jacket conjuring a nineteenth-century traje de luces (suit of lights) worn by a matador; clean, simple, and technically perfect lines that extrapolate the minimalist rhythms and volumes of the vestments of Spanish nuns and priests; a velvet-trimmed evening gown aesthetically indebted to the farthingale robe of a Velázquez Infanta. In this image: Galleries featuring a sampling of techniques, silhouettes and styles all in black in Balenciaga and Spain at the de Young Museum in San Francisco through July 4, 2011.

08_03

SAN FRANCISCO.- The exhibition illustrates Balenciagas expansive creative vision, which incorporated references to Spanish art, bullfighting, dance, regional costume, and the pageantry of the royal court and religious ceremonies. Cecil Beaton hailed him as Fashions Picasso, and Balenciagas impeccable tailoring, innovative fabric choices, and technical mastery transformed the way the worlds most stylish women dressed. In this image: Galleries featuring pieces created in the colors of the Spanish flag in Balenciaga and Spain at the de Young Museum in San Francisco through July 4, 2011.

08_04

SAN FRANCISCO.- The exhibition originated in 2010, in a presentation at the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute in New York City titled Balenciaga: Spanish Master. The exhibition was conceived by Oscar de la Renta, who began his career in fashion working at Balenciagas Madrid couture house in the 1950s. De la Renta invited Hamish Bowles to curate the exhibition. For the de Young Museum, the themes are expanded to include twice as many objects, drawn from museum and private collections around the world and including an unprecedented loan of 30 pieces from the House of Balenciaga in Paris, which generously opened its archives of historically significant Cristóbal Balenciaga garments, iconography, and related materials. In this image: The section on the influence of Spanish regional costume in Balenciaga and Spain at the de Young Museum in San Francisco through July 4, 2011.

08_05

SAN FRANCISCO.- Whether he literally represented it in such recognizable elements as the bata de cola (dress with a ruffled train) of the flamenco dancer, or more loosely suggested it in the use of lunares (polka-dot patterns), a bold, traditional print used in flamenco costumes, Balenciaga incorporated and abstracted the rich culture of Spanish dance in his work, using tiers of fabric, ruffles, flounces, and fabric choices that accentuated movement. Balenciaga was also captivated by the traje corto costume of the male flamenco dancer and deconstructed its elements of close fitting cropped bolero, cummerbund, and tight pants into his work. Flamencos influence can be seen in whimsical hats that accessorize the ensembles, simulating a flower tucked in a dancers hair or a scarf knotted around the head. In this image: The section on the influence of flamenco dance in Balenciaga and Spain at the de Young Museum in San Francisco through July 4, 2011.

08_06

SAN FRANCISCO.- From his earliest collections, Balenciaga included designs that contained overt allusions to the costume of the matador, writes Bowles. Using the traditional stiffened bolero of the matador, decorated with sumptuous embroidery, alamar (frog and braid trimming), and distinctive borlones (pompom tassels), as a starting point, Balenciaga softens the silhouette for his female clients throughout the 1940s and early 1950s. In this image: Millinery influenced by the bullfight in Balenciaga and Spain at the de Young Museum in San Francisco through July 4, 2011.

08_07

SAN FRANCISCO.- Balenciaga collaborated with embroidery houses such as Bataille and Lesage to re-create the passmenterie, beading, and embroideries of the matador costumes, themselves as intricate as haute couture garments. By the 1960s, Balenciaga takes these embroideries and embellishments out of the traje de luces context and uses them as decoration on eveningwear and millinery. In this image: The section of work influenced by the bullfight in Balenciaga and Spain at the de Young Museum in San Francisco through July 4, 2011.

08_08

SAN FRANCISCO.- Inspiration also comes from the color palette of the matadors capes and his work includes splashes of bright fuchsia, deep red, and vibrant yellow. Even the carnation, the traditional flower thrown in tribute to matador at the end of a successful bullfight, appears in Balenciagas work in embroideries and printed fabric. In this image: An early 20th century traje de luces bolero (left) with three interpretations by Cristobal Balenciaga featured in Balenciaga and Spain at the de Young Museum in San Francisco through July 4, 2011.

08_09

SAN FRANCISCO.- A devout Catholic all his life, who once considered joining the priesthood, Balenciaga was deeply moved by both the everyday dress and the pageantry of the Spanish church. He reinterpreted elements suggesting a nuns habit, a priests embroidered chasuble or severe black cassock, a monks hooded robe, and even the spectacular, brilliantly colored and embellished robes that clad the statues of the Madonna carried through the streets of Spain during Holy Week. It is here that Balenciagas technical mastery and tailoring shine as he plays with ideas of volume, structure, and linear purity. In this image: The section featuring work inspired by the pomp and ceremony of religious life in Balenciaga and Spain at the de Young Museum in San Francisco through July 4, 2011.

08_10

SAN FRANCISCO.- As legendary fashion editor Diana Vreeland vividly described him, Balenciaga was the true son of a strong country filled with style, vibrant color, and a fine history, who remained forever a Spaniard… His inspiration came from the bullrings, the flamenco dancers, the fishermen in their boots and loose blouses, the glories of the church, and the cool of the cloisters and monasteries. He took their colors, their cuts, then festooned them to his own taste. Curator Hamish Bowles notes, Balenciagas ceaseless explorations and innovations ensured that his work was as intriguing and influential in his final collection as it had been in his first.

Publicité
Publicité
Commentaires
Publicité