Cristobal Balenciaga (French, founded 1949), Evening dress, 1938. Black silk velvet. Gift from The Estate of Tina Chow. 91.255.2. The Museum at FIT 2012 © The Museum at FIT.

From the moment Balenciaga opened his couture house in Paris in 1937, he created gowns inspired by those of the Infantas, the princesses of Spain's golden age. The padded hips, or panniers, combined with the rich black velvet (meticulously rendered in a cutwork leaf pattern and popular in the baroque era), further enhance the historic look of this garment. But, the fitted bodice and the canted hemlines of both the jacket and the skirt illustrate Balenciaga's blending of modern dressmaking techniques, a practice that he would continuously refine in his later work. The modernity of the suit attracted the eye of the celebrated woman of style, Tina Chow, who bought and wore this ensemble nearly four decades after it was made.