{"id":57936,"date":"2022-06-03T22:39:11","date_gmt":"2022-06-03T22:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=57936"},"modified":"2022-06-03T22:43:36","modified_gmt":"2022-06-03T22:43:36","slug":"museum-fit-exhibit-cristobal-balenciaga-christian-dior","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/museum-fit-exhibit-cristobal-balenciaga-christian-dior\/","title":{"rendered":"The Museum at FIT Opens Its New Exhibit Charting the Legacies of Crist\u00f3bal Balenciaga and Christian Dior"},"content":{"rendered":"
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L-R: Balenciaga, Dior (Images courtesy of Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This week, The Museum at FIT opened its latest exhibition, titled \u201cDior + Balenciaga: The Kings of Couture and Their Legacies,” which celebrates the influences of designers Crist\u00f3bal Balenciaga and Christian Dior.<\/p>\n

Featuring about 65 garments from FIT\u2019s permanent collection, the exhibit compares and contrasts the work of the two legendary couturiers. It also marks the very first time an exhibit highlights the juxtaposition between the two designers, displaying garments emphasizing the meticulous craftsmanship of their respective ateliers, and their differing, yet equally inventive, construction methods.<\/p>\n

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Courtesy of the Museum at FIT<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cDior and Balenciaga were not only the most important and influential couturiers of their time, they have also remained very relevant today,\u201d said Patricia Mears, the deputy director and curator of FIT, and curator of the exhibition. \u201cSo much so that contemporary fashion designers regularly look to them for inspiration. It is also the reason why curators and historians around the world continue to organize many large-scale exhibitions and produce lavish books celebrating their creations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Balenciaga started his couturier in 1937, while Dior began in 1946, and coincidentally, the two renegades launched their first collections at the age of 42. Each ultimately came to represent the pinnacle of luxury dressing, while using different methodologies to create some shockingly similar silhouettes. Reviving both the fashion landscape and France\u2019s crippled economy in the Post-War period, each brought back a decadence to dressing.<\/p>\n

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Courtesy of the Museum at FIT<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1947, Christian Dior\u2019s \u201cNew Look\u201d or the Belle Epoque silhouette made a splash with its exaggerated hourglass shape. In response to the rations of the war, Dior celebrated femininity with unabashed opulence. Known for utilizing vast amounts of fabric for his designs, Dior modernized the corseted figure due to his love of illustrating \u201cflower women.\u201d While Monsieur Dior was not a dressmaker himself, he replied upon the skill of his artisans to bring his designs to life. Dior\u2019s \u201cNew Look\u201d was such a success, his company accounted for more than half of France\u2019s couture exports during the mid-century.<\/p>\n

Balenciaga swiftly gained notoriety as one of the greatest dressmakers in the world. Even Dior referred to his contemporary as \u201cthe master of us all.\u201d Growing up in a small fishing village in Spain, Balenciaga began to sew from a young age, even opening his own business early on. Once the Spanish Civil War took hold, Balenciaga moved to Paris, expanding his business and becoming the couturier still hailed for his skills today.<\/p>\n

When entering the exhibition, two beige silk evening dresses in coordinating silhouettes are presented next to one another (seen below). The Balenciaga piece weighs in at a mere 2.2 pounds while the Dior garment is at least a whopping 9 pounds, which demonstrates how constructions of similar-looking designs can differ so much.<\/p>\n

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Courtesy of the Museum at FIT<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A notable moment within the retrospective comes courtesy of FIT professor Tetuso \u201cTed\u201d Tamanaha, who provides a virtual lesson (via video screen) of how each designer would have crafted their garments.\u00a0 Tamanaha created three-dimensional renderings of an evening dress by Dior (below) and a \u201csack dress\u201d by Balenciaga, both from 1957, to serve as an educational component and illustrate the complexities of haute couture construction.<\/p>\n

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Tulle, embellished gown from Dior’s last collection (Courtesy of the Museum at FIT)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To show just how influential Balenciaga and Dior’s designs were, the exhibit also features works from other designers that have gone on to helm storied French brands, including Balenciaga and Dior, from Marc Bohan, Yves Saint Laurent, John Galliano, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Demna, and Nicolas Ghesqui\u00e8re.<\/p>\n

“Dior + Balenciaga: The Kings of Couture and Their Legacies” runs from June 1 to November 6 at The Museum at FIT in New York City and is free and open to the public to enjoy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31863,"featured_media":57955,"template":"","format":"standard","categories":[17,16],"yoast_head":"\nThe Museum at FIT Opens Crist\u00f3bal Balenciaga and Christian Dior Exhibit<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In \u2018Dior + Balenciaga: The Kings of Couture and Their Legacies,\u2019 the Museum at FIT examines the overlapping influences of fashion\u2019s great couturiers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/museum-fit-exhibit-cristobal-balenciaga-christian-dior\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" 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