1. V&A Shop
  2. Books
  3. Exhibitions & displays
  4. Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion (hardback)

Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion (hardback)

£30

Only 4 available

Your product successfully added to bag

Free UK delivery on orders £60 and over

Haute Couture is like an orchestra, whose conductor is Balenciaga. We other couturiers are the musicians and we follow the direction he gives. 

– Christian Dior

 

 

Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895–1972) remains one of the most revered and enigmatic fashion designers. Here, breathtaking illustrations reveal why he is renowned for exceptional tailoring, sculptural shapes, deft manipulation of textiles, and a dramatic use of color.

His glamorous clientele included Grace Kelly, Jackie Kennedy, Pauline de Rothschild, Ava Gardner, and Marlene Dietrich; many of his clients dressed almost exclusively in his designs, which were celebrated for being both easy to wear and tailored to flatter any figure. Even today, Balenciaga’s name remains synonymous with quality.
 


This fully revised and extended edition of Balenciaga offers a thorough examination of the Spanish-born couturier’s designs and business practice, and places him firmly in the context of the time, looking at the country in which he learned his trade and the international fashion scene in which he matured and triumphed. His perfectionism, effortless, iconic style, and the wearability of his clothes continue to influence designers today.

 

Illustrated with archival images as well as stunning new photography, this book explores Balenciaga’s legacy in fascinating detail.

Author/Artist/Designer

Lesley Ellis Miller

Pages

192 pages

Dimensions

22.2 x 2.5 x 27.9 cm

ISBN

9781851779031

Colour

Red

Product code

148507

Delivery

 

Our standard delivery charges and estimated timescales are as follows. Selected product exceptions apply; see product details. International deliveries may also be subject to customs fees or taxes upon arrival, which are your responsibility.

Please note: New orders are now likely to arrive after Christmas. For last minute gifts, visit our museum shops until 23 Dec, or explore our digital options such as V&A Membership.

 

Standard delivery per order
UK
£5 – or FREE for orders over £60
3-6 working days
Europe
£20
6-10 working days
Rest of World
£30
10-14 working days

Custom prints

 

Each print is made to order and dispatched separately to other V&A Shop products, for UK delivery only. The charges and estimated timescales below are in addition to our standard delivery charge when bought together with a V&A Shop product. However, delivery is free for all orders over £60.

Custom print delivery (UK only)
Unframed
£9 per order – or FREE for orders over £60
6-10 working days
Framed
£15 per print – or FREE for orders over £60
6-10 working days

 

Returns

 

An extended returns window is granted over the Christmas period. Orders placed from Friday 1 November 2024 can be returned until Monday 20 January 2025.

We hope you are happy with your V&A Shop purchase. However, if you are not, most items are eligible for a full refund, subject to the criteria below. Refunds are offered for items in an unused, unopened condition, and with original packaging – with the following exceptions. This does not affect your statutory rights.

The following items are excluded from our returns policy and cannot be refunded unless faulty, damaged, or not as described:

  1. Custom prints and other items made to your specification or personalised;
  2. Items that have been sealed for hygiene reasons, where the seal has been broken, such as beauty products, soap, pierced earrings, hosiery, socks, sunglasses and face coverings;
  3. Perishable or edible items such as flowers or food;
  4. Memberships, tickets for exhibitions, bookings for events and courses.

 

For full details, visit our Delivery & Returns page.

About the author

Lesley Ellis Miller

Lesley Ellis Miller is senior curator of Textiles and Fashion (before 1800) at the V&A, and professor in Dress and Textile History at the University of Glasgow. She is the lead curator for the refurbishment of the V&A’s galleries ‘Europe 1600 – 1815’. She is an authority on the silk industry, on which she has written extensively.