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A Look Back At Balenciaga's Most Iconic Moments Through History

As the V&A celebrates the influence of iconic couturier Cristobal Balenciaga, look back at the brand's most-loved designs and moments of recent years

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As the upcoming V&A exhibition Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion proves, the legendary house has a long, storied history that goes far beyond the luxe puffers and bejewelled heels its known for at the moment.

Founder Cristobal Balenciaga opened his Paris couture house in 1937, having fled the Civil War in his native Spain. He quickly won a legion of fans, from aristocracy and royalty to Hollywood A-listers, and was the favoured designer of the rich and famous for decades, despite his dislike of publicity.

In 1968, he suddenly closed his house. A move that caught many by surprise, including loyal client Mona von Bismarck, who was so upset she refused to leave her Capri villa for three days.

Balenciaga died shortly after in 1972, 14 years before his label was brought back to life in 1986 by Jacques Bogart SA. It would reach a new creative high in 1997 when Nicolas Ghesquiere was appointed Creative Director, using Cristobal's ethos as his template. The Frenchman reinvigorated the house, making it one of the most famous in the world today. Following a brief stint as Creative Director by Alexander Wang, it is now helmed by Demna Gvasalia and continues to thrive.

Here, we track the fashion house's most iconic moments in history...

The man

Cristobal Balenciaga
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Cristóbal Balenciaga opened his Paris couture house in August 1937, having been forced out of his native Spain — where his clients included royalty and aristocracy — by the country's Civil War.

He quickly became just as successful in Paris, with customers reportedly risking their safety to travel to Paris during World War II to buy his dresses and gowns.

The other New Look

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Post-war, he offered an alternative to Christian Dior's New Look, characterised by its nipped-in waist, championing an empire line silhouette instead. Dior himself called Balenciaga 'the master of us all.'

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His use of bubble hemlines (pictured) was lauded, as was his creation of the sack dress and the cocoon coat - all silhouettes that remain to this day. During his career, he mentored designers including Hubert de Givenchy, Emanuel Ungaro and Oscar de la Renta.

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Balenciaga on film

Balenciaga costumes, Anastasia
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In 1956, Cristobal designed Ingrid Bergman's costumes for the historical film 'Anastasia'. 

Balenciaga costumes, Anastasia
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The pieces created for the film included a navy suit and a princess-line satin gown with sipper-satin stole (pictured),

Famous fans

Elizabeth Taylor wearing Balenciaga
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Cristobal Balenciaga become well known for his Hollywood fans, including Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly and Jackie Kennedy (who famously fell out with her husband over her Balenciaga bills).

Pictured: Elizabeth Taylor in 1967, wearing an intricate sari dress designed by Cristobal Balenciaga

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Britt Ekland shopping at Balenciaga in 1962

Actress Anita Ekberg leaving Balenciaga's Avenue George V store in Paris in 1962.

Cristobal's final design

As the V&A celebrates the historic house of Balenciaga look back at the brand's most iconic moments
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Balenciaga came out of retirement in 1972 to create the wedding dress of Spanish aristocrat and socialite María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú (pictured). He passed away two weeks later.

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The dress (pictured) featured more than 10,000 pearls and used 20 spools of silver thread. Balenciaga is alleged to have completely remade the gown just two days before the wedding because he wasn't satisfied with the fit.

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The first 'It bag'

As the V&A celebrates the historic house of Balenciaga look back at the brand's most iconic moments
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Nicolas Ghesquière designed his first bag, the 'Motorcycle Lariat', three years after arriving at the fashion house. He produces two prototypes initially but label heads decide not to put it into production. Eventually he persuades them to produce just 25, gifting them to models editors and friends, including Kate Moss (pictured in 2003). The design quickly became one of the first 'It bags', seen on everyone from Moss to the Olsen twins. It is still sold 

As the V&A celebrates the historic house of Balenciaga look back at the brand's most iconic moments
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'No logo. Very light. Very effective,"  he told WWD of why he thought the bag became so sought after. 'It was a new fresh thing, but it looked like an old, good, friendly thing. And I think the brand also was becoming desirable. People had desire for my goods and [the bag] was the most accessible piece. You could be a Balenciaga girl with that bag.'

Making red carpet history

As the V&A celebrates the historic house of Balenciaga look back at the brand's most iconic moments
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Nicolas Ghesquière designed the dress worn by Jennifer Connelly to pick up her Best Supporting Actress award at the 2002 Oscars. The pale tiered gown worn with a skinny scarf didn't top everyone's best-dressed list but it did cement itself in red carpet history.

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Those robot leggings

As the V&A celebrates the historic house of Balenciaga look back at the brand's most iconic moments
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If you had $100,000 to spare, you could have snapped up Balenciaga's now-iconic 'robot' leggings from the  SS07 collection. 

As the V&A celebrates the historic house of Balenciaga look back at the brand's most iconic moments
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They were created of hundreds of individual metal components to give an armour-like look.

As the V&A celebrates the historic house of Balenciaga look back at the brand's most iconic moments
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Beyonce famously wore them to perform at the 2007 BET Awards.

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The must-have blazer

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The AW07 collection saw Ghesquière send super-slim preppy blazers down the catwalk. They quickly garnered waiting lists at retailers all over the world, despite costing in excess of £1,000. 

The iconic 'Ceinture' boots

Balenciaga Centurion boots
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Designed by Nicolas Ghesquière in 2010 as part of the SS11 collection, these decidedly non-summery boots were a slow burn but are now a sure-fire icon. With the direct translation of 'ceinture' being 'belt', the boots are punctuated by two belt-like chunky buckles across the top of the foot and around the ankle. You'll still see them on the streets of fashion week every season, without fail.

A vintage moment

As the V&A celebrates the historic house of Balenciaga look back at the brand's most iconic moments
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In 2012, the house introduced the 'Balenciaga Edition' line, for which the design studio selected 12 designs and six pieces of jewellery from the house archives of Cristobal Balenciaga's haute couture collections, dating between 1945 and 1967, to redevelop using the original fabrics and construction but replicating them with current manufacturing techniques.

In 2013, Cate Blanchett wore a recreated dress originally designed by Cristobal Balenciaga in 1967. The piece looked like it could have stepped off of a modern-day Balenziaga catwalk.

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Wang's reign

As the V&A celebrates the historic house of Balenciaga look back at the brand's most iconic moments
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Ghesquière departed the label in 2012, making way for American designer Alexander Wang to take the helm of the historic fashion house.

Pictured: Lady Gaga at the 2015 Met Gala

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He looked immediately to the house's archives, drawing inspiration from Cristobal's designs. 

Pictures: Wang and Julianne Moore at the 2013 Met Gala

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