Jacket, skirt and scarf
- Place of origin:
- Date:
- Artist/Maker:
Cristóbal Balenciaga, born 1895 - died 1972 (designer)
Ascher Ltd (probably, manufacturer)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Credit Line:
Given by Mrs D.M. Haynes and Mrs M. Clark
- Museum number:
- Gallery location:
- Image in copyright
Balenciaga was the most exclusive fashion house in Paris immediately after World War II. The Spanish-born couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895-1972), ‘the Master’ to his fellow fashion designers, had moved to Paris from Spain in 1937. By 1952 he had 232 employees and his house produced 356 new designs per year. His clients, admitted to the salon only after a personal introduction, included many cosmopolitan women of different nationalities. Some dressed exclusively in his clothes.
Balenciaga was a perfectionist in cutting and seaming, and was renowned for reworking garments even when they were being worn by a client. In the 1950s, Balenciaga’s designs became increasingly pared down, foreshadowing the simple geometry of 1960s fashion, as seen here. Balenciaga enjoyed the challenge of creating garments for older women. In this suit, the forgiving gathers of the skirt would conceal a less than perfect figure.
Physical description
Skirt, jacket and fringed scarf in charcoal wool, with silk lining.
Place of Origin
Paris, France (made)
Date
ca. 1956-1957 (made)
Artist/maker
Cristóbal Balenciaga, born 1895 - died 1972 (designer)
Ascher Ltd (probably, manufacturer)
Materials and Techniques
Wool with silk lining
Marks and inscriptions
'Balenciaga, 10 Avenue George V, Paris'
'65361'
Object history note
Opal Holt was born in Canada in 1887 but lived in the US until the end of the Second World War. She travelled extensively between the wars and was in the first plane to land in Bali. She married Herbert Holt, a Canadian who lived a large part of his life in England, as her third husband in 1946. They came to England and Europe every summer and Opal Holt began buying clothes in Paris for her life in England, and for the Bahamas in Winter, over a period of about thirty years. She died in 1980.
Given by Mrs D.M Haynes and Mrs. Clark (nee Holt; Opal Holt's step-daughters).
Descriptive line
Skirt, jacket and scarf in wool, with silk lining, designed by Cristóbal Balenciaga, probably made by Ascher Ltd., Paris, ca. 1956-1957
Exhibition History
The Golden Age of Couture. Paris and London 1947 - 1957 (Victoria and Albert Museum 22/09/2007-06/01/2008)
Labels and date
[Tailoring section]
Suit with matching scarf
Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895-1972)
Paris
About 1956-7
Balenciaga favoured the dense tweeds made by Zika Ascher, the Prague-born British textile manufacturer who supplied many of the couture houses in the 1950s. Most designers found such fabrics testing, but Balenciaga transcended any difficulties. Similarly, he enjoyed the challenge of creating garments for older women. In this case, the forgiving gathers of the skirt would conceal a less than perfect figure.
Wool, probably supplied by Ascher Ltd
Worn by Mrs Opal Holt and given by Mrs Haynes and Mrs Clark
V&A: T.131&A, B-1982 [22/09/2007-06/01/2008]
Materials
Silk; Wool
Categories
Fashion; Accessories; Women's clothes
Production Type
Haute couture
Collection code
T&D
