Daily Front Row

2010 September 29

Balenciaga: Spanish Master to Open in New York

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Balenciaga flamenco-inspired evening dress, 1951
Henry Clarke / Vogue; Copyright © Condé Nast View Gallery

(NEW YORK) Balenciaga history buffs in Paris got their chance to get up close and personal with the brand (everything from Cristobal’s famous archives to Nicholas Ghesquiere’s modern offerings) when the Musée de la Mode presented a fabulous exhibition in 2006—but for those stateside who may have missed it, another exhibit of the famed Spanish designer will land in New York in November. Balenciaga: Spanish Master will open at the Queen Sophia Spanish Institute on Park Avenue, displaying works exclusively by Cristobal Balenciaga himself between 1937 and 1968.

The exhibition was conceived by Oscar de la Renta (chairman of the Institute’s board of directors) and curated by Vogue’s Hamish Bowles, who also wrote the accompanying Rizzoli-published catalogue. It includes more than 70 pieces, like a 1939 “Infanta” gown, a 1947 “matador” bolero, the embroidered 1957 wedding dress of Sonsoles Díez de Rivera (daughter of Balenciaga's Spanish muse, the Marquesa de Llanzol), and flamenco inspired dresses from 1951 and 1961 (click gallery for preview images!), which come from private and museum collections, the Met’s Costume Institute, the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, and even Bowles’ personal collection. Balenciaga: Spanish Master will open to the public on November 19, and will run through February 19, 2011.
EMILY GYBEN