“The fact that we are here to present an exhibition of costumes from the series is very important,” he said. Bina Daigeler on Wednesday at the Madrid Botanical Garden. This The German was nominated for an Oscar for Mulan He will also create seventies costumes for a mini-series in 2021. Mrs America and among his latest projects is the series Cristobal Balenciagaavailable on Disney+ January 19, 2024.

But to whet your appetite, you can visit the show’s locker room. every day until January 21from 10:00 to 17:30 for a free exhibition included in the price of general admission to the Royal Botanic Gardens. Using videos to help locate costumes in the series, the exhibition offers visitors a peephole view of key moments in the designer’s life as depicted in each of the series’ six episodes.

These include your started in Paris in 1937., when Cristobal Balenciaga presented his first haute couture collection in Paris and tried to find his style, spending his entire professional career in his workshops in Madrid and San Sebastian; before his dedication as one of the most important designers of all time and with the greatest legacy today.

According to the costume designer, who was doing press at a private event before the inauguration, both the tour of the halls and the series itself help explain why for her Cristobal Balenciaga was not only a designer.but a multidisciplinary artist whose structures in his creations have made him more of an “architect of fashion.”

Paper to screen challenge

Daigelera accompanied Pepo Ruiz Dorado, costume designer who also worked at Les Miserables or Velvet collection. He explained that many of the reproductions were made from black-and-white photographs taken nearly a century ago, or even simple sketches of Getaria’s creator, making an exhaustive documentation process mandatory to figure out colors or precise textures. costumes.

In the course of the preparations, which were presumably completely handmadethey were in contact not only with the house of Balenciaga, but also with Dior, Givenchy and Chanel. “I was very curious to know how houses today retain the essence and spirit of their creators, despite the passing of years,” Daigeler said with a smile.

The exhibition is also a way to travel back in time, observing, for example, how The Second World War defined his work, inspiring Cristobal’s military uniform, making his colors reflect the depression he experienced, and later causing him to switch to empire and balloon cuts, which were much looser in the waist, with attracting women to work.

The wedding dress also stands out. Fabiola from Belgiumwhich in 1960 traveled from the Balenciaga atelier in Madrid to the Laeken Palace in Brussels in a box that was also reproduced for the exhibition:

“She was unattractive, but Cristobal wanted her to look good. He studies her body and, with some minor changes, makes her look like a princess from a fairy tale. He does this with a two-piece swimsuit supported by a small cutout at the back of the head. neck and internal structure, which makes it seem that she It floated as I walked and the dress was light.but in fact it was quite the opposite,” illustrated Pepo Ruiz Dorado.

Stars of the series Alberto San Juan and a cast that brings to life established 20th-century characters who played important roles in the master’s life. They stand out among them Belen Cuesta (Fabiola de Mora and Aragon); Josean Bengoechea (San Sebastian businessman Nicolas Bizcarrondo); Cecilia Solaguren (his wife Virgilia Mendizábal); Adam Quintero (Ramon Esparza, co-designer for over twenty years); Thomas Coumans (Vladzio D’Attenville, partner and partner of Cristobal Balenciaga); Gemma Whelan (Prudence Glynn, journalist) Time); Anouk Greenberg (Coco Chanel); Gabrielle Lazur (Carmel Snow, fashion director Harpers Bazaar); Patrice Thibault (Christian Dior); Nine d’Urso (model Colette); And Anne-Victoire Olivier (actress Audrey Hepburn).

“Chrysalis” of discord

To the music from Alberto Iglesiaspresent in many films Pedro Almodóvar; The series was created by Lourdes Iglesias and 12-time Goya winners. Aitor Arregui, John Garaño and José Mari Goenaga (Endless Trench, Lorik, Jandia). The fact that there are several directors has its pros and cons. Bina explained how one of the outfits sparked controversy between those who wanted to include it in the series and those who did not: the Baby Doll dress in printed silk taffeta.

This simple detail was especially difficult to restore because the production team was unable to find similar fabric. However, in the end it fell into his hands. warehouse of a now closed store in Bilbao a very similar bolt of fabric that turned out to be from the house’s own supplier just three days before filming began.

Bina insisted on how Spain played a crucial role in the designer’s work, especially evident in costumes inspired by paintings such as Meninas in the shelters of Vejer de la Frontera or in an ornament very similar to that of the vestments of church authorities, since the author was “very religious.”

In short, the exhibition presents a version of the creator as a man ahead of his time, part of the public did not understand however, he has always been highly respected by his peers in the industry and as someone whose work is a perfect fit for the latest pieces being created by today’s designers.

“He didn’t stop there, he was always looking for new ideas. That’s why it’s so iconic and remains a benchmark. Balenciaga was a very modern and advanced house.. It seems conservative, but it’s not: he was classical and religious, like all the people of his time, but his inner artistic language was modern,” concluded Bina.