Secrets of Balenciagas design revealed

(24 May 2017) LEADIN: The first UK exhibition exploring the work of Spanish fashion designer Cristobal Balenciaga opens in London on May 27. The exhibition at London s Victoria and Albert Museum (V A) primarily focuses the designer s most creative years in Paris in the 1950s and 1960s but also examines his Basque roots and his legacy on contemporary designers. STORYLINE: A major exhibition at the UK s top fashion and design museum is exploring the creations of Cristobal Balenciaga. Crowds are here for an early viewing of the exhibition of a designer credited for introducing revolutionary shapes to fashion, like the tunic, the sack, the baby doll dress and the shift dress. However, despite his importance in fashion history Cristobal Balenciaga is not a wellrecognised name to those outside the fashion bubble. Shy and wary of the press, Balenciaga has arguably been surpassed in the publicconsciousness by his great rival Christian Dior. Cassie DaviesStrodder, curator of Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion