balenciaga and spain...

yesterday i had the opportunity to view the absolutely fabulous exhibit of balenciaga and spain at the de young museum in san francisco...absolutely breath-taking...if you have a chance to see it...i highly recommend it...showing until july 4th...

the dapper cristobal balenciaga

here are some of my favorites...(please excuse the "flash"...a photographer i am not...obvi)

evening ensemble of black silk organza and white cotton pique, summer 1951


dorian leigh wearing evening dress of black wool jersey, brown tulle and ivory silk flower, winter 1952


sue murray wearing evening dress of black silk crepe with "chou" wrap of black silk gazar, winter 1967


lisa fonssagrives wearing coat of fawn wool duvetyn, winter 1950
loved every coat there...this was my fave, though...


evening dress of black velvet with thinestone and bead embroidery, winter 1967


evening bolero jacket of blood-red velvet with jet and passementarie embroidery, winter 1946


cocktail dress of fuchsia silk shantung and black lace with black silk satin ribbons, summer 1966


evening dress of black silk crepe, winter 1967


new addition to my collection of coffee table books

balenciaga and spain...

be still my beating heart...look what is coming to san francisco...at the de young museum...to be exact...starting march 26 thru july 4...you can bet i will be viewing this spectacular exhibit...and most likely...more than one time...

here is a snippet of the description:

Balenciaga and Spain examines the profound and enduring influence of Spain on the work of haute couture master Cristóbal Balenciaga. The impact of Spanish culture, history, and traditions is explored through the recurring themes in Balenciaga’s oeuvre and organized in the exhibition in six sections: Spanish Art, Regional Dress, The Spanish Court, Religious Life and Ceremony, the Bullfight, and Dance. Hamish Bowles, the European editor at large for Vogue will serve as guest curator. Objects are drawn from museum and private collections in France, Spain and the United States, including the FAMSF collection

photo source

so do you texturize?

texture...think of it as the subtlest form of patterning...it is what gives clothing its richness and visual depth...


though you may be dressed in black from head to toe...the ribbing on your turtleneck...which sets it apart from the tight weave of your wool gabardine suit...which is in turn complemented by the plushness of your alpaca overcoat and the dull shine of your leather handbag...that is texture at work...


experiment with opposites: the sheen of satin with the earthier roughness of wool; luxurious velvet with basic denim; sheer voile with cotton broadcloth...


playing with contrasting textures can help fudge colors that don't quite match...and combining items of different textures is a way to vary the seasonality and mood of your wardrobe without having to buy a lot of extras...

and if you are like me...and can't do the "all black" look...add a pop of color...for me it is either a bright colored handbag...or shoes...

so do you texturize??

some designer texture facts:
miyake - born in 1938, japanese designer issey miyake has been called a sculptor whose medium is fabric...his radical experimentation with pleated, wrinkled, and folded cloth...as well as with basket-woven straw, ikat weaves, and paper fabric...has yielded designs that seem ancient, contemporary, and futuristic...using historically japanese shapes and exotic combinations of materials...miyake subjects his fabrics to punishing treatments in order to bring out well-worn textures and richness...

fortuny - mariano fortuny was born into a prolifically artistic family in granada in 1871...exceeding even his accomplished relatives, fortuny went on to become a staggeringly creative designer and inventor, perhaps most famous for the pleated silk fabric that now bears his name....each of his silk dresses required three to four times their width in material and were stored by gathering up the pleats and tying the dress into a tight ball...making it ideal for travel...the pleats were formed by crimping wet silk between heated porcelain rods, a process which held one of his twenty patents...fortuny died in 1949, but his fashion influence lived on in the collections of such designers as balenciaga and more recently mary mcfadden, karl lagerfeld, and issey miyake...