Cristobal Balenciaga

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In 1895 Cristobal Balenciaga was born in Gueteria in the Spanish Basque country. At the age of 24 he opened his first fashion house in San Sebastian and by 1933 he had fashion houses in Madrid and Barcelona.

christobel balenciaga By 1947 he had opened his fashion house at 10 avenue George V. Presentatio in Paris.

His first fashion collection met with great applause.

The remainder of the 40s and 50s saw his fashion designs go from strength to strength and in 1958 he was awarded the Legion of Honour.

The 60s saw him move into footwear and sportswear and he was also responsible for the fashion designs of the uniforms of Air France hostesses.

In 1967 after 30 years, he retired to Spain.

Nicolas Ghesquiere was born in London in 1971 and presented his first ready-to-wear collection for Balenciaga in october 1997. In 2000 he received the VH1 Award and in 2001 the CFDA Best Designer Award.

Balenciaga was aquired by the Gucci Group in 2001 and in 2003 the opening of the New York and the 10 Avenue George V, Paris shops, designed by Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster were inaugerated.

www.balenciaga.com