Evening ensemble
Though Christian Dior began his creative process with sketches, selecting fabrics only after a design had been finalized through the creation of a muslin toile, Cristobal Balenciaga considered fabric a starting point that guided the design direction. The fabric’s hand–its crispness or softness–determined the volume and shaping that could be achieved; its composition, whether of wool or silk, could determine its suitability for day or night, formal or informal occasions; and the scale of its pattern, or the absence of pattern, might suggest a design that showed off a novel motif or instead emphasized the abstract geometry of a silhouette. For this evening ensemble from the wardrobe of Elizabeth Parke Firestone, Balenciaga relied on the natural body of silk faille, which he gathered to produce a dress with soft fullness reminiscent of an 1880s bustle. For the coordinating coat of the same fabric, Balenciaga’s precise seam lines created structured contours whose dramatic effect is amplified by the color choice, a deep charcoal gray.
Artwork Details
- Title: Evening ensemble
- Design House: House of Balenciaga (French, founded 1937)
- Designer: Cristobal Balenciaga (Spanish, Guetaria, San Sebastian 1895–1972 Javea)
- Date: ca. 1956
- Culture: French
- Medium: (a-c) silk; (d, e) silk, leather; (f, g) silk, metal; (h) silk, glass
- Credit Line: Gift of Sandy Schreier, in celebration of the Museum’s 150th Anniversary, 2019
- Object Number: 2019.454.1a–h
- Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute
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House of Balenciaga
1945–55
House of Balenciaga
1960s
House of Balenciaga
ca. 1960
House of Balenciaga
1960s
House of Balenciaga
1960s
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