Cristobal Balenciaga was born on the 21st of January 1895 in the wonderful country of Spain, in a fishing town called Getaria. He is the founder of the fashion house called Balenciaga; he was also a very well known fashion designer who was highly respected for his work. Cristobal’s mother worked as a seamstress and he often spent time with his mother when she was working. When he was twelve years old, Cristobal started his work as the apprentice of a tailor. When he was a teenager he was sent to Madrid and that is where he was trained into becoming a tailor.
Even early in his designing career, Cristobal was successful, as he opened his first boutique in Spain in 1914. Then a little while after that there were two more branches that he opened in Madrid and in Barcelona. His designs were very popular and were even worn by the Spanish royal family. He was doing well until he was forced to close his stores by the Spanish Civil War. It was then that he decided to move to Paris and open his Paris couture house.
Cristobal Balenciaga had a hard time and many obstacles to overcome with his designing, but he did not let that stop him from doing what he wanted to do. When it got to the year 1951 he changed some of his designs, for the best. He changed the silhouette by taking away the waist and widening the shoulders. He then designed the tunic dress in 1955 and in 1957 it developed into the chemise dress.
In 1968 he closed his house due to the “prêt-a-porter” that the French were introducing. After that and all Cristobal has been through, he went on to teach fashion design classes to educate the people who would like to make a success of their lives like he did. He inspired many other designers and to this day, Cristobal Balenciaga is well known, even though he passed away in on March the 23rd, 1972. This man is an idol to many young and old fashion designers and he will always be remembered.
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