Balenciaga and Givenchy

ParisRefashioned_21Hubert de Givenchy met Cristóbal Balenciaga in 1953, two years after Givenchy opened his couture house. Although Givenchy never formally apprenticed under Balenciaga, the elder couturier became his mentor, informing his business decisions and his aesthetic.

By the early 1960s, fashion critics had begun to complain that Givenchy was relying too heavily on styles pioneered by Balenciaga. Nevertheless, both couturiers continued to be enormously successful, and each had a large clientele in France and the United States. These voluminous coats, owned by the American heiress Doris Duke, reveal that the designers shared ideas as well as clients.

Left: coat by Hubert de Givenchy, circa 1958
Right: coat by Cristóbal Balenciaga, circa 1957
Photo by Eileen Costa. © 2017 The Museum at FIT
Paris Refashioned, 1957-1968 runs through April 15, 2017 at The Museum at FIT in NYC.

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