Balenciaga loved the colour black

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The "Balenciaga, l’œuvre au noir" exhibition includes black Haute Couture pieces created by the Spanish fashion designer, amidst white sculptures, plasters and mouldings from the Musée Bourdelle in Paris.

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Balenciaga loved the colour black: it allows to concentrate exclusively on the cut of the garment without distractions and to introduce shades and highlights, by adding a different fabric to supplement it. The selection of materials is based on the required properties, to fit ideally with the cut.

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And if the tissue does not exist, it needs to be invented. The “Gazar” has been developed in 1958 by a Swiss textile firm in collaboration with Cristobal Balenciaga: it is a gleaming lightweight silk fabric with a great ability to hold its shape, only used in haute couture.

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The seventy monochrome pieces, from the Galliera collections and the archives of Maison Balenciaga, feature a creative and original exhibition, where black is a new colour.

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Photos © Collection Palais Galliera - © Julien Vidal / Galliera / Roger-Viollet / ©Balenciaga Archives Paris

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Photos © Musée Bourdelle

Balenciaga, l’œuvre au noir exhibition from March 8th to July 16th, 2017 >>

Wednesday 8 March 2017, 18:30