What was Balenciagas influence on fashion in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s?
Cristóbal Balenciaga opened his first boutique in San Sebastián, Spain, in 1914,[2] which expanded to include branches in Madrid and Barcelona.[3] The Spanish royal family and the aristocracy wore his designs, but when the Spanish Civil War forced him to close his stores, Balenciaga moved to Paris. Balenciaga opened his Paris couture house on Avenue George V in August 1937, and his first runway show featured designs heavily influenced by the Spanish Renaissance.[3] Balenciaga’s success in Paris was nearly immediate. Within two years, the French press lauded him as a revolutionary, and his designs were highly sought-after. Customers risked their safety to travel to Europe during World War II to see Balenciaga’s clothing.[3] During this period, he was noted for his “square coat,” with sleeves cut in a single piece with the yoke, and for his designs with black (or black and brown) lace over bright pink fabric. However, it was not until the post-war years that the full scale of the inventi
