Tweed skirt suit in black, with a brown and cream fleck, designed by Cristóbal Balenciaga. Paris, 1951.

Coat and skirt made from black tweed with a brown and cream fleck, made by Balenciaga.
T.128 - The coat is hip length, loosely cut and slightly tapering towards the hips. The short, wrist length, kimono sleeves are cut in one with the body of the coat, and hang at a 31 degree angle from the shoulder line, requiring no gusset to be added into the underarm of the jacket. There is a narrow band collar and a false, double-breasted fastening with four matte-finish, round, plain buttons. The buttonholes are all hand-stitched, and only the top buttonhole is double stitched. There is an inner button to hold the other side of the jacket in place. The pockets are straight, vertical slits at waist level. The lining is of black taffeta. The shoulders are well padded.
T.128A - The skirt is mid calf length, straight and tight, with a wrap over kick-pleat (also known as a single knife pleat) at the centre back, measuring 31.5cm long from the hem of the skirt. It fastens on the left hip with a YKK zip. The skirt is lined with grey-brown silk. The skirt has been taken up slightly and the zip replaced. The construction of the outer layer and the lining are different as the outer layer is made of three pieces, but the lining is made from one piece without side seams, and with an opening at the centre back. This opening is at the same position as the pleat but is 4cm higher.
There are two waist darts in the front piece of the outer layer, near the side seam, and the hem of this layer has a raw edge, sewn with a catch stitch to the main body of the skirt. The side seams of the outer layer have the standard 2.5cm allowance at each side.
The back of the skirt has two short waist darts at each side. The waist band itself is straight and the back side extends by 4cm to fasten with the hooks and eyes. For the comfort of the wearer, the waist band is also lined.

Given by Miss Catherine Hunt

The Premier d'atelier for this suit was Henry, and the original mannequin was Jacqueline. It was worn by Martita Hunt and given by her sister following her death (see registered paper 69/2325). Martita Hunt (1900-1969) was a British theatre and film actor, best known for her 1946 performance as Miss Havisham in David Lean's film version of 'Great Expectations'.

This suit, comprising a loose-fitting jacket and a slim-line skirt, was shown in Balenciaga's Winter collection in 1950 as model no. 24. It reveals Balenciaga’s debt to his training in tailoring in Spain and is an early example of the loose-fitting styles which he refined over the 20 years after the second world war. In the early 1950s, a made-to-measure woollen suit from Balenciaga cost about £112, a sum well beyond the reach of most consumers.

The magyar sleeve (a sleeve cut in one with the body) reveals how adept Balenciaga was at less traditional forms of construction. He was renowned in the trade for inspecting and resetting sleeves that were not perfect.

The slubbed nature of the tweed conceals the beauty of the cut whereas in the original mannequin parade, it was clearly visible because a plain wool was used. Tweed was a sturdy woollen fabric that appealed to Balenciaga because of the optical illusions created by the two or more colours in the indistinct flecked pattern.

T.128&A-1970