In the Cristóbal Balenciaga series, now available on Disney+, fashion is the center of the premise. But not only the fact that the designer created pieces of art in sewing and turned them into one of the most recognized brands in the world. Also, the series explores how the brand became a favorite of Hollywood stars, European royalty and even local dignitaries and politicians. All while the enigmatic creator strove to deepen his concept of fashion, becoming an artistic inspiration in his own right.
The production, with a script by Lourdes Iglesias, Aitor Arregi, Jon Garaño and José Mari Goenaga, narrates the moment when the couturier became world famous. What happened when he had to flee to Paris during the first years of the Civil War in Spain. The plot explores the man beyond the myth and focuses on all the elements of his personality that have been debated for decades. His complicated and tough character was the inspiration for the protagonist of the film. The invisible thread from Paul Thomas Anderson — to his sexual orientation. The chapters traverse Balenciaga’s life, highlighting his contradictions and nuances.
But also, they analyze a point of interest. The way in which the Guipuzcoan designer’s dresses became a status symbol among European high society and in Hollywood. Balenciaga’s elegance, link with the art world and especially, Balenciaga’s conscientiousness when creating exclusive outfits, made him an essential character on the catwalk. At the same time, in a way of understanding textile and fashion design in an era marked by politics, contacts and status. Something that the Disney+ series devotes a good amount of time and interest to.
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From crowned heads to Oscar winners
The series dedicates several of the most emblematic sequences of its episodes to narrating how Balenciaga became favorites of key figures in fashion. Carmel Snow (Gabrielle Lazure), the fashion director of Harper’s Bazaar, has a fundamental appearance to understand how Balenciaga took the step from being a purely Spanish designer to a universal one. Ditto The Times journalist Prudence Glynn (Gemma Whelan) who becomes the focal point of the way the series tells its story. Both women turned the designer’s clothes into the epitome of elegance and good taste.
However, the plot pays tribute to personalities of considerable importance in the couturier’s golden age. Queen Fabiola of Belgium (Belén Cuesta) is part of the version that the designer ended up dressing the most ancient and conservative of the continent’s high birth. In fleeting roles, but worthy of understanding history, the series includes Pauline de Rothschild, Mona von Bismarck and the singer Raquel Meller.
Hollywood stars in the genius’s atelier
Also mentioned is Marlene Dietrich — who used to insist that none of the dresses the designer sent her were altered — as Audrey Hepburn. The latter, played by Anna-Victoire Olivier, was the bridge between Balenciaga designs and the mecca of cinema. In the series — just like real life — the well-known artist becomes the standard bearer of Spanish fashion. What ended up making clients names like Jackie Kennedy, Grace Kelly and even Wallis Simpson. The billionaire Barbara Hutton is mentioned to show how Balenciaga became a representative figure of luxury in the major North American financial spheres.
But it was the mecca of cinema in which Balenciaga made clear his sense of beauty and delicacy in dressing. From Rita Hayworth, Lauren Bacall, Elizabeth Taylor, Ginger Rogers, Ingrid Bergman to Romy Schneider. The great actresses insisted that they had to look impeccable, thanks to the designer’s creations. This, he not only made sure that each suit was perfect, but that he memorized the sizes and characteristics of each client. What also made him a curious confidant of an elite that made him famous and later, a legend in the world of fashion.
Sew and create history
Finally, the series places special interest in how Balenciaga influenced the lives of other designers. From Ungaro, Courrèges, Givenchy, De la Renta. Coco Chanel to Dior. They all claimed to have learned to sew alongside a designer who was obsessed with neatness and who had a relationship – also control – over every point of their creation process.
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The Disney+ production dedicates entire chapters to delving into each personality that had relevance and importance in Balenciaga’s life. But at the same time, it makes an elementary point clear. The Basque designer marked a before and after, in the middle of the fashion scene as an art form. A legacy for the future, which the Disney+ work pays tribute to in various ways.