balenciaga - Meadows Museum

B A L E N C I AG A
A N D H I S L E G AC Y
M Y R A WA L K E R
Balenciaga is still my god.
—Hubert de Givenchy
Balenciaga and His Legacy:
Haute Couture from the Texas Fashion Collection
(hardcover)
Edited by Myra Walker, with a contribution by Hubert de Givenchy
162 pages
Yale University Press
$50.00
ISBN 0-300-12153-9
Born in 1895 in a remote fishing village in Spain, Cristóbal Balenciaga demonstrated an early penchant
for fashion, learning sewing and tailoring at his mother’s knee. By 1937, the talented and persistent
young man had opened his own design salon in Paris, and in the years following World War II he
emerged as a significant and popular designer in the world of haute couture. The House of Balenciaga
grew to serve an international clientele—including such devoted patrons as Pauline de Rothschild and
Mona von Bismarck—from locations in Paris, Madrid, and Barcelona. From 1937 to its closing in 1968,
Balenciaga created some of the most outstanding and innovative examples of French and Spanish
haute couture of the era; his creations were sculptural, often spare, and always breathtaking.
This beautifully illustrated book presents nearly 70 Balenciaga creations for day and evening, along
with 25 hats, from the extraordinary archives of the Texas Fashion Collection of the University of
North Texas. The book also includes striking fashion photographs from Vogue magazine and Harper’s
Bazaar by Richard Avedon and Louise Dahl-Wolfe. A series of essays explores many aspects of
the designer’s work, among them his contributions to fashion history; connections with such other
prominent designers as Hubert de Givenchy and Oscar de la Renta; important relationships with
Neiman Marcus and fashion buyer Bert de Winter in Dallas; and his close friend and client Claudia
Heard de Osborne.
About the Editor
MYRA WALKER is curator and director of the Texas Fashion Collection and professor in the School of
Visual Arts at the University of North Texas. She lives in Dallas.
Published in association with the Meadows Museum, Southern Methodist University, Dallas
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Inspired by the art and traditions of his native Spain, Cristóbal Balenciaga’s designs
elicited a singular devotion from his clients and left a mark on generations of
designers to follow. This one-of-a-kind exhibition of extraordinary gifts from
Texas patrons Claudia Heard de Osborne, Bert de Winter and Mercedes T.
Bass features more than 100 creations by Balenciaga and those he influenced,
including Oscar de la Renta, Hubert de Givenchy and André Courrèges.
The exhibition and study have been organized by the Meadows Museum at SMU, in collaboration
with the Texas Fashion Collection, School of Visual Arts at the University of North Texas. They are
made possible by a gift from The Meadows Foundation.
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