Coat
Since the 1970s both the producers and consumers of fur fashions have come under criticism by animal-welfare organizations. Several designers have responded to this antifur initiative by promoting fake fur as an ethical alternative to real fur. In the 1960s Cristobal Balenciaga, driven less by ethics than by aesthetics, experimented with textiles and techniques that imitated the look and feel of fur. In this coat he employed Papacha, a mohair developed by Lida and Zika Ascher in 1965 that is knotted by hand to give the impression of tufts of fur.
Artwork Details
- Title: Coat
- Design House: House of Balenciaga (French, founded 1937)
- Designer: Cristobal Balenciaga (Spanish, Guetaria, San Sebastian 1895–1972 Javea)
- Date: ca. 1965
- Culture: French
- Medium: wool
- Credit Line: Gift of Countess Edward Bismarck, 1981
- Object Number: 1981.249.4
- 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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