BALMAIN |
A few well known
designers and couturiers:(Dior,
Balmain, Balenciaga, StLaurent and others)
| PIERRE BALMAIN,
1945 |
Pierre Balmain was born in St Jean de Maurienne,
Savoie in 1914. He owed his early training to the two greatest
designers of the time - Molyneux and Lucien Lelong - opening his own
Haute Couture house immediately following the war, in the autumn of
1945, on the Rue François 1er in Paris. Clients quickly flocked to
Balmain, and were thrilled to discover the new image he had created
for women. The Balmain woman had shed the last vestiges of wartime
hardship with abundant insouciance and charm, and heralded a return
to opulence in richly embroidered gowns and ensembles.
American author Gertrude Stein, a close friend of
Balmain's, saluted the advent of this "New French Style"
in her writing. This image of an active, irrepressible, perfectly
groomed, elegant woman with a touch of independence in her nature
took root and was embodied in the "Jolie Madame",
emblematic of the nineteen-fifties.
The 1960s were years of renewal for Pierre Balmain,
who used fabrics scupturally for the creation of uncluttered designs
accenting pure structure and contrasts of cut and style. This was
also a richly productive period in the field of costuming for stage
and screen. In addition, Balmain designed personal wardrobes for
numerous international stars, including Brigitte Bardot, Marlene
Dietrich, and Katherine Hepburn - to name just a few. This period
also marked Balmain's first meeting with Her Majesty Queen Sirikit
of Thailand, who chose him to be her personal couturier.
The name Pierre Balmain stands for a unique
concept of elegance, a clientele of royalty and film stars, and a
fashion hallmark recognized throughout the world. The ready-to-wear
division, founded in the 1970s, has gradually made an impact on the
market and is now registering significantly satisfying results, with
some 220 licenses worldwide.
With the disappearance of Pierre Balmain in 1982,
the torch was passed to Erik Mortensen - his personal assistant
since 1951 and his closest colaborator - who maintained the House's
traditions while developing and updating styles and designs in the
spirit of its founder. In recognition of this achievement, Mortensen
won tne France Haute Couture Golden Thimble Awards for his Automn-Winter
1983/1984 collection. Erik Mortensen then went onto his second
French Haute Couture Golden Thimble Award, presented at the Palais
Galliéra on 31 July 1987, for his Autumn-Winter 1987/1988
collection.
When Erik Mortensen left the House of Balmain in
July 1990, he was replaced by youthful Hervé-Pierre, who served as
designer from 1990 through 1993 for both the Haute Couture and
ready-to-wear collections.
In january 1993, internationally renowned American
designer Oscar de la Renta signed his first Haute Couture collection
for Pierre Balmain and has now rejuvinated the line while respecting
the colours, the fluidity and elegance of the "Jolie
Madame" esprit.
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Haute Couture
Women's Ready-to-Wear
Men's Fashion
Perfumes (Ivoire, Jolie Madame, Miss Balmain, Vent Vert, Monsieur
Balmain, Ebène)
Accessories |
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France |
PIERRE BALMAIN
44, rue François 1er
75008 PARIS
Tel: 01 47 20 35 34
Fax: 01 47 23 40 11
www.pierre-balmain.com |
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France |
44, rue François 1er - 75008 PARIS
35, rue François 1er - 75008 PARIS
17, rue de Tournon - 75006 PARIS |
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BALENCIAGA, date of creation: 1937 |
It is not surprising that Spain has produced a genius like
BALENCIAGA, capable of the most daring innovations in a
superbly classic style. What is surprising is that this
Spaniard became the leading French fashion designer.
His story began something like a legend :
born in 1895 in Guetaria, a small fishing village on the
Spanish Basque coast, Cristobal BALENCIAGA was still very
young when it became apparent that he was destinated for
Couture.
At the age of thirteen, he astounded the
Marquise of CASA TORRES with his comments on her elegance.
Realising his interest in Couture and his aesthetic potential,
she allowed him to make a copy of the Haute Couture clothing
she was wearing.
Trembling, he did his work so well that she awarded him by
wearing it.
The following year he travelled to Paris. In a daze, he
devoured the collections of DOUCET, WORTH, DRECOLL and others.
Upon his return and at the age of sixteen, he opened his first
Couture workshop in San Sebastian, where he adapted the
Parisian Style for Spanish women.
In 1915, the first fashion house was opened
in San Sebastian under the name BALENCIAGA.
In 1920, the second house opened in Madrid.
He left Spain when the civil war broke out and established
himself in Paris, where, in August 1937, he opened his
showrooms at 10 avenue George V.
From the start, a style was created which lived up to its
expectations for thirty glorious years. BALENCIAGA himself
sums it as follows :
« a Couturier must be an architect for design, a sculptor for
shape, a painter for color, a musician for harmony, and a
philosopher for temperance ».
Year after year, the one they call « the
couturier of couturiers » created astonishment with his
collections and the mastery of his cuts. He changed women's
silhouettes.
1945 : close-fitting waistlines, square shoulders.
1951 : open necks, wide shoulders, looser waistlines.
All these features created « the BALENCIAGA revolution ».
MODERN DAILY WEAR: BALENCIAGA
He also left his imprint on various periods
:
coasts with wide collars, tunic dresses, sack dresses in the
50's.
He also turned his flair to the creation of prestigious
perfumes. This man, whose exceptional talent never tired in
its quest to achieve even greater harmony between the body and
clothing, always knew that the true sign of elegance, the
ultimate refining touch, lay in the subtle, delicate notes of
a fragrance.
In 1947, he created his first perfume : LE DIX from the famous
couturier's address at 10, avenue George V.
Only someone of his quality could be all
this at once.
Both a dandy and a recluse, he watched his collections
displayed from behind a white curtain, becoming a mythical
figure who only a privileged few ever had the pleasure to
know. And not out of snobbery or affectation. Such man cares
little for the world. Rather the world comes to him, and only
the finest at that.
His most faithful clients included : the Queen of Spain, the
Queen of Belgium, the Duchess of Windsor, Princess Grace of
Monaco, all regularly recognized in the press as the
best-dressed women in the world.
On May 12, 1958, he is made « Chevalier de
la Legion d'Honneur ». In the late 60's : at 74, after
working in Paris for 30 years, he decided to retire and closed
his fashion houses in Paris, Barcelona and Madrid, one after
the other.
His last public appearance in Paris was for the funeral of
Coco Chanel, who once said that « BALENCIAGA is the only
couturier able to design, cut, assemble and sew a dress
together entirely by himself ».
On March 24, 1972, the undisputed Master of all the great
couturiers - the man who inspired GIVENCHY, UNGARO, SCHERRER,
COURREGES and many others - passed away in Valencia.
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Women's Ready-to-Wear
Men's Fashion
Perfumes and Accessories |
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France |
BALENCIAGA SA
11, avenue d’Iéna
75116 Paris
Tel: 01 53 67 85 40
Fax: 01 53 67 85 41
Press service Europe : Sigrid de l’Epine |
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United States |
Press service: Pierre Rougier
PR Consulting
50 Bond Street 6th floor
New York NY 10012 Etats-Unis
Tel : 00 1 212 228 81 81
Fax : 00 1 212 228 87 87
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MODERN DAILY WEAR: YVES ST LAURENT
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Christian Dior / Dior
Between founding the fashion house
of ‘Christian Dior' in 1947 and his death in 1957 Fashion Designer
extraordinaire, Christian Dior, introduced the new look. Comprising
of delicate shoulders, narrow waist and elegant silhouette, the new
look evoked the essence of 'Parisian Woman.'
Within this brief ten year period,
Christian Dior created an enduring fashion house, whose name is
known throughout the World. Christian Dior was one of first fashion
designers to develop the concept of licensing. Originally,this was
for hosiery, cosmetics and accessories. Today, licensing is the
lifeblood of many fashion houses.(Below, a few examples of Dior
dailywear) Medallion Coat, $1150
The modern House of Christian Dior
has replaced the new look with a new elegance, with Christian Dior
Hand Bags, Christian Dior Sunglasses, and Christian Dior Perfume,
complimenting the fashion line designed by Englishman John Galliano.
Stretch $160, Lace up pants
$1275
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