Cristobal Balenciaga Disney+ follows the designer’s life in six episodes. But beyond just being a detailed biography (which it is), it also deconstructs some of the more uncomfortable contextual aspects of the Spanish artist’s life. Especially when the script by Lourdes Iglesias, Aitor Arregui, John Garaño and José Mari Goenaga ponders the politics and sexual orientation of a famous figure.
At the same time, he is rumored to be paranoid and obsessed with work. As you remember, the great Spanish fashionista had a rather mysterious and ambiguous attitude towards his personal sphere. Not only because he reached the peak of his success at a time when the culture was especially conservative. And also because Balenciaga was part of the understanding of art.
The Disney+ production doesn’t ignore any of the above and explores it thoroughly. This is despite the fact that there is little direct evidence about Balenciaga’s life and his opinions on particularly controversial topics. Despite this, it’s clear that the series tries to give historical context and a realistic perspective to its most controversial elements. Did he really ignore the civil war going on in Spain while he struggled to succeed? Did the pressure on your sexuality during a particularly repressive time affect you? Did he know how to sew, at least as the plot shows him, in which his Parisian workshop appears full of sewing machines, which he skillfully uses?
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We leave you with three of the most controversial moments presented in the series and which are part of the designer’s unauthorized history. Something that is included in the story with an elegant tone, but also with great care and detail, when telling the life of one of Spain’s great couturiers. At the same time, a man who not only analyzed the meaning of fashion in art, but turned it into a visual legacy that is still celebrated and admired today as works of textile and design art.
Inspiration from Cristobal Balenciaga
The series, in different sequences and chapters, shows some of the most discussed elements of various collections of the famous couturier. Namely, that most of his ready-to-wear dresses and suits were inspired by several famous paintings. The idea has become part of a sort of myth about his talent and classic style, but the Disney+ production gives it a more nuanced meaning. In other words, that Balenciaga (played by Alberto San Juan), In several of his most famous collections, he included reinterpretations of some of the greatest paintings in the world of universal art. Truth or lie?
This is a real fact. Although Balenciaga’s various references also included sculpture and various fashion movements in Europe, his main source of inspiration was art. He has proven this more than once. In his 1960 collection, he included a suit with a red satin dress decorated with metallic threads and beads. inspired directly by the painting Cardinal Don Luis Maria de Bourbon and Vallabriga Francisco de Goya.
In the same collection one could see a wedding dress made of white satin and mink details, almost detail by detail imitating the work Fray Francisco Sumel Francisco de Zurbaran, painting from 1628. But one of her most famous dresses, and the one that had the greatest influence, was included in her 1967 work. One of the works on display is a combination of a metallic yellow night cape and a column shape that immediately reminds us of Annunciation El Greco. The last one, painted in 1576 and one of the couturier’s favorite works.
In the dispute, it is clear that the artist takes references even from more modern works, such as Guernica Pablo Picasso. This gives all his work a more thoughtful and aware of the artistic and social environment that surrounded his work as a creator.
A designer who also knew how to sew
It is often stated that Cristobal Balenciaga was admired by other big names in the fashion world, including Coco Chanel, for his sewing skills. In other words, he didn’t just create his luxurious costumes. He often participated in the creation. In fact, this version of Balenciaga’s life is part of a Disney+ series. The production shows Guipuzcoan’s workshop in Paris several times.s, as well as demonstrating their ability to distinguish fabrics, weaving patterns and darning machine marks. Is this almost idyllic image of Balenciaga real?
This. In fact, Balenciaga’s mother was a seamstress who taught her son all the secrets of sewing. This allowed the designer not only to participate in every stage of the creation of several of his most famous dresses. In addition, become famous among various Parisian fashion houses. for a type of skill not too common among the biggest names in the business.
Sexual and political life of myth
Cristobal Balenciaga was a mysterious man. Many biographies describe him as obsessive about his work, paranoid and anxious. But rumors about the influence of politics and power in Spain at the height of his career were never fully explored. In particular, the moment he experienced on a personal level when, at the height of the Civil War, he had to close the doors of his workshops in San Sebastian, Madrid and Barcelona. To later escape to Paris. He was accused of being apolitical and even of leaving behind the country and the intense conflicts that plagued society at the time. What is true about this whole version?
In fact, the plot reflects the same opinion of historian Javier Gonzalez de Durana in his book. Cristobal Balenciaga. Fashion, politics and society during the Civil War 1936–39 (San Sebastian and Paris).. That is, the designer did not forget and was not indifferent, as he was repeatedly accused, to what was happening in Spain. It was only in the midst of the conflict that he was forced to make extreme decisions to save his life and career.
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This leads to the following point: Balenciaga did not hide his sexual orientation, which could have exposed him to danger in the midst of war. The Disney+ series doesn’t delve too deeply into either point—it uses them more as context—but it doesn’t ignore them. In fact, two pairs of designers are part of small screen history. An interesting step for the narration of intimate scenarios of a man known for his mystery and, especially, restraint in the personal sphere.
Source: Hiper Textual
