The 'couturier of the couturiers', Cristobal Balenciaga, was originally Spanish. His mother was a tailor and Balenciaga started to interest himself at a very early age for needlework. In 1913, Balenciaga starts working for the royal Spanish studio in San Sebastiàn in Northern Spain. In 1919, he opens his own fashion house in San Sebastiàn and clothes the Spanish royal family. The opening of further fashion houses follow in Madrid in 1933 and in Barcelona in 1935. The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) forced him to flee to Paris. Chanel said of Balenciaga that of all twentieth-century designers, the only one who could create a garment from the beginning to end was Balanciaga. Cristobal Balenciaga (1895-1972) was the mentor of Hubert de Givenchy. Courrèges (born in 1923) and Emanuel Ungaro (born in 1933) learnt haute couture with Balanciaga.
 

Past royal clients have included H.M. the Queen of Spain, the Duchess of Windsor, Princess Grace of Monaco and Princess Bismarck. He designed Queen Fabiola of Belgium's wedding dress. Marlene Dietrich, Barbara Hutton, Ginger Rogers and Ingrid Bergmann were dressed by him. Pauline de Rothschild, Gloria Guiness and Bunny Mellon were also Balenciaga customers. His last creation was the wedding dress for the Duchess of Cadiz. Cristobal Balenciaga presented his last haute couture collection in 1968. Then he closed all his couture houses in Paris, Barcelona and Madrid. These days Balenciaga offers Pret-à-Porter for ladies and gentlemen.

Address: Balenciaga, 10 avenue George V, 75008 Paris, France, Phone: 0033-1-47.20.21.11, Tel/Fax: 0033-1-47.23.01.60