Cristóbal Balenciaga: Sack Dresses, a Press Blackout and Modern Scandal

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Cristóbal Balenciaga opened his first boutique in San Sebastián in 1917 and later dressed the Spanish royal family from shops in Madrid and Barcelona. The Spanish Civil War closed his stores in 1936, and in August 1937 he opened a couture house on Avenue George V in Paris with a debut inspired by the Spanish Renaissance. Under German occupation his was one of about 60 houses allowed to operate; his ties to Francisco Franco's Spain gave him fabric other houses could not get, and he testified that he refused a request from Hitler to move his operation to Berlin. Coco Chanel called him the only true couturier.

Against Christian Dior's cinched New Look, he dropped the waist entirely: the balloon jacket in 1953, the tunic dress in 1955, the sack dress and cocoon coat in 1957, and kimono cut Empire line pieces in 1959, later built in stiff duchess satin. From 1957 to 1967, joined only by Hubert de Givenchy, he barred the press until the day before clothes shipped and refused to join the Chambre Syndicale. He closed his house in 1968 and died in 1972. The name passed through Hoechst, Jacques Bogart and, in 2001, the Gucci Group, with Nicolas Ghesquière, Alexander Wang and, from 2015, Demna as creative directors.

• Harper's Bazaar editor Carmel Snow became an early champion and effectively crowned him the new king of couture.
• He designed Queen Fabiola of Belgium's 1960 wedding dress in ivory duchess satin trimmed with white mink.
• Joseph Kennedy quietly paid Jackie Kennedy's Balenciaga bills so the spending would not become a political issue.
• A 2022 campaign showing children holding teddy bears in bondage gear drew global backlash and apologies from the brand.
• The brand's trompe l'oeil sweatpants printed to look like jeans over boxer shorts sell for $1,190.