Cristóbal Balenciaga often took inspiration for his couture from the folklore, the tradition, the art, and the liturgy of Spain, his homeland. From his first collection presented in Paris in 1937, Balenciaga established his ‘Infante’ style. The couturier was convinced of the incontestable elegance of black and white, but saw in red the power and essential evocation of his couture’s flamboyance. Cristóbal Balenciaga got this red from flamenco – a dramatic shade, tragic but sublime. Balenciaga also borrowed his lines, volumes, and character for some of his most iconic creations from the garb of Spanish clergymen. “Several of the evening ensembles he presented in the 60s are reminiscent of some of the most solemn habits of the ecclesiastical body, almost identical to those represented by Zuloaga in his Castilian paintings,” declares the reference work Cristóbal Balenciaga: La forge du Maître by Miren Arzallus.
The anchoring of Balenciaga’s compositions in the art and culture of Spain seems obvious. Within the paintings of Ignacio Zuloaga, one of the most important Spanish painters of the late 19th century, the couturier found inspiration and past pieces that he would perfect in his own modernity. Matador jackets, short coats, and Manila shawls were thus introduced into Parisian haute couture. “The short bolero jackets that Balenciaga created for his Winter 1946-47 collection were strict interpretations of flamboyant clothing represented in Zuloaga’s paintings of toreros,” explains Miren Arzallus. The red velvet bolero is today a key piece in the archives of the Foundation Balenciaga, in addition to another iconic composition: a long spectacular cape made in a hypnotizing red. “Inspired by ecclesiastical garb, the flame red coat is the very essence of Balenciaga style.” These few lines published in Vogue point out something obvious: Cristóbal Balenciaga adapted the garb of Spanish cardinals to turn it into an ultra-feminine coat. This piece is once more reminiscent of the cassock worn by the Cardinal in a Zuloaga portrait dating back to 1912.
The ‘couturier of couturiers’ did indeed like to collect religious habits and 19th century Spanish costumes – no surprise then to learn that the “bishop of modernity” Balenicaga also often worked with women of royal ranks. For example, the red velvet Infanta dress imagined with a white organdy collar, perhaps more loyal to its historical source, supposedly worn by Madame Bemberg during a Louis XIV costume ball held by the Comte and Comtesse de Beaumont in their residence on Rue Masseran”, Miren Arzallus tells in her book. While it may appear in total dissonance with the work and art of Balenciaga to the untrained eye, the brand’s current creative director Demna Gvasalia actually composes with modernity to encompass all the founder’s heritage. For Fall/Winter 2016 he brought out an architectural down jacket imagined in a very Balenciaga-esque red – this basic with a huge plus value is already one of the most sought after and iconic pieces in the early Gvasalia era.
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