Cristobal Balenciaga (French, born Spain, 1895–1972)
Pink silk gazar with matching pink feathers
Gift of Louise Rorimer Dushkin, 1980 (1980.338.6)
Cristobal Balenciaga reached widespread fame in the 1950s and '60s among upper-class Americans, though his work was regularly featured on the pages of Parisian Vogue as well. His cantilevered cut was hailed for its accommodating fit, affecting a slimmer silhouette on a curvier form.
Inspired by the flamenco dress, Balenciaga liked gowns that rose at the front and trailed to the back, allowing a dancer's forward motion to fill the cup at the back with air and to whip around animatedly. If Balenciaga's gowns were more genteel, they allowed air entering at the front with a wearer's motion to pull the long back to a billowing volume.
Taking its cue from the dancing dress, this dress was an obvious choice for cocktails, with its lighthearted feather skirt and simple, pared-down construction. By the late 1950s, the etiquette barring bare arms before eight o'clock in the evening was no longer adhered to, allowing a variety of sleeveless and even slightly décolleté pieces to infiltrate the cocktail venue. Undoubtedly worn with a pair of elbow-length gloves and a cocktail hat, this dress falls to the appropriate just-below-the-knee length in front, but has a more formal train. Silk gazar, a mat high-twist textile to which Balenciaga's dresses became inextricably linked, was a wonderful execution for the cocktail hour. Gazar's texture and drape were lavish, but certainly did not exhibit the ostentation of evening wear.
