Coat

Cristobal Balenciaga|House of Balenciaga

spring/summer 1966 · wool, synthetic · Costume Institute

Cristóbal Balenciaga was the master of the mid-century era of haute couture, of whom Christian Dior said: "Haute couture is like an orchestra whose conductor is Balenciaga,” while Diana Vreeland called him “the prophet of nearly every major change in silhouette in 20 years." She famously exhibited the one-seam coat of 1961 in her "World of Balenciaga" exhibition at the Costume Institute in 1973. This double-breasted day coat with kimono sleeves is a spring-summer 1966 iteration of this principle, reflecting the modernism and abstraction, which mark the later stages of Balenciaga's career. His 1960s creations were characterized by autonomous architectural volumes, standing away from the body's outline. The checkered, planar motif of the coat is in tune with the 1960s vogue for Op Art and the minimalism of artists Ellsworth Kelly and Daniel Buren. The minimalist ideal is also reflected in the construction technique: the sleeve and back panel of the coat are cut from one and the same panel, "à même" (the same).

Artist

Cristobal Balenciaga|House of Balenciaga

Date

spring/summer 1966

Medium

wool, synthetic

Culture

French

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Purchase, Gould Family Foundation Gift, in memory of Jo Copeland, 2018