Deirdre McQuillan visits an exhibition of the clothes of the legendary Spanish couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga, in Paris
It was once said of the Spanish couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga that he destroyed the time element in fashion. One of his long-standing champions, the formidable Irish editor Carmel Snow, remarked that he was always several seasons ahead of it. Much of what he gave to 20th-century dress is now taken for granted, such as the "sack" or sheath dress, and the high-waisted chemise. Fifty years after he introduced the tunic, in l955, it is back in vogue, and it is easy to see his influence in certain Zara dresses on the high streets of Europe. It can also be seen in Roland Mouret's Galaxy dress of last season.
Balenciaga was acknowledged by his peers as a master. He was the undisputed king of couture for almost 30 years before he closed his house, in l968, renouncing ready-to-wear. "I shall never prostitute my art," he said imperially. His clients included some of the world's most powerful and beautiful women. His rigour in striving for perfection was legendary. His play with form and silhouette bold and innovative, and he produced some 300 original designs a year.
Today, the house of Balenciaga is undergoing a revival in the hands of Nicolas Ghesquière, and Balenciaga Paris, an exhibition currently running at the Museum of Fashion and Textile, part of the Louvre Museum complex in Paris, celebrates the work of the great Basque designer and his successor. There is a book, too, also called Balenciaga Paris, edited by Pamela Golbin, curator of the Museum of Fashion and Textile.
I visited the exhibition recently, and it was remarkable to see how modern Balenciaga's clothes, particularly those from the early l930s, appear today. Their perfection of cut, their sense of proportion, their colour and their grandeur make them the kind of clothes that defy trends.
The exhibition is mounted in darkness, with the clothes illuminated in glass cases, which adds to their mystique and deeply Spanish nature. Dramatic black lace gowns are straight out of Goya paintings. Caped dresses in black velvet and white tulle recall the paintings of Francisco de Zurbarán, and a stunning high-necked sequinned purple dress is in the style of the Spanish renaissance. Blood-red velvet embroidered with braid and black beads turns a toreador jacket into luxurious eveningwear. As for the suits, their tailoring and pleating is so adroit and clever that visitors spend ages working out how they were put together.
The exhibition progresses to the present-day work of Ghesquière, from his uncertain beginnings in l998 to his powerful and acclaimed summer and winter 2006 collections, with their skinny pants, strong shapes and brocades. It's also fascinating to compare, through film installations, the differences between fashion shows of the l950s, when a small, well-heeled coterie, all bare legs and no trousers, watched silent models holding style numbers aloft, and today's vastly more elaborate presentations.
Unlike Ghesquière, Balenciaga never pandered to the publicity machine, disdaining interviews and licensing deals. Like Balenciaga, Ghesquière limits invitations to his catwalk shows. This retrospective, however, gives unrestricted access - and a close-up look at some of the 20th century's greatest creations - to anybody interested in fashion.
Nearer home, the Ulster Museum in Belfast has a number of original Balenciagas, including one in brown organza that still bears a Légion d'Honneur insignia pinned to its bodice. u
• Balenciaga Paris is at the Musée de la Mode and du Textile (www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr), in the Louvre complex, Paris, until January 28th, 2007. Balenciaga Paris is published by Thames & Hudson, £48 in UK