Mary Blume

Writing a biography of Cristobal Balenciaga must have been quite a challenge. Balenciaga was an intensely private man, who only gave one press interview in his entire life. He never made public appearances at his own fashion shows, and avoided the social whirl that surrounded his industry. So there is very little source material to work with, other than anecdotes from people who knew him, many of whom still respect his desire for privacy.

Because there is very little new that can be said about the man, this book works much better as a history of the company he founded. It has a lot of interest about Balenciaga's history, designs and operation, and of the Paris haute couture industry as a whole. Quite a bit of the book is given over to key employees of Balenciaga, and the story is mostly told through their eyes. A good read for people who are interested in fashion or social history.… (altro)