For any profession someone who wants to develop their skills would look towards inspiration to what they feel will help them with their work. From an athlete to an artist inspiration can help you develop a successful career. At the de Young Museum a thriving artist can visit and get inspiration from the plethora of paint and design on the walls. A young designer for example could get their inspiration from the Balenciaga Exhibit. But the million-dollar question is, “where did this acclaimed and out of the box designer get his inspiration from?”
Throughout the exhibit many can learn from the captions on the walls that much of his inspiration came from his spanish background. Just by admiring the clothing you can see all around that many of his designs have the “Spanish touch” mounted all over them. From elegant evening dresses to cocktail ensembles, much of these pieces of clothing were inspired by Balenciaga’s home country. Since he grew up and lived most of his life in Spain, until moving to Paris in 1920, much of his clothing was inspired by the numerous aspects of Spain. For example the dress shown to the right was inspired by the music and dance culture of the Flamenco dancers. The flow of the dress mimics the style of clothing that a Flamenco dancer wears during a performance. With the Balenciaga twist it still mirrors the same shape and dramatic look. Along with using Flamenco as an inspiration Balenciaga also used Basque Folk dance, and Andalucía dance. Not only does this dress represent the Spanish dance culture, but it presents one of Balenciaga’s key colors. In most of his designs Balenciaga drops the color black into the river of emotion of his dresses. The de Young Museum notes that this color has some meaning of inspiration in his work.
At the age of 11, death visited the home of Balenciaga. As a child Balenciaga had to learn what it was to mourn a loved one, in his case his father. Death can take a toll on a child, and who knows what Balenciaga would have done or designed if he had not witnessed such a dramatic experience early on in his life. In a way the color black that is expressed in his clothing is more of a representation then an inspiration. Black represents sorrow, from that you can come to a conclusion that he is trying trying to make a serious impression in his clothing. This color is one of his key aspects of design. In many of his pieces, black is part of the reason the piece of clothing is so dramatic and moving. Along with the innovative and radical silhouettes his clothing expresses, one need not ask why Cecil Beaton once said, ”Balenciaga is fashion’s Picasso.”
Balenciaga must not have a story for every piece he ever designed, but its quite apparent while walking through the dark aisles of the exhibit that Balenciaga not only wanted his dresses or ensembles worn, but to show or represent a part of his life. For example his Evening Dress in the summer of 1956 bore the red carnation. This carnation is the national flower of Spain, and a major symbol of the Bullring. This reoccurring pattern on the dress, which was created by Abraham, could be inferred that the dress symbolized the tribute thrown at the feet of a victorious matador. Along with his loyalty to his country he imprinted to many aspects of a Spanish life into his clothing. The matador was a large symbol for Balenciaga because many of his pieces come from the fit and design of the Matador. For example the piece pictured to the right is obviously inspired by the fighter of the bulls. This piece among others shows the immense love Balenciaga had for his country.
Through out the entire exhibit you are surrounded by inspiration, but if you look deeper into the fabric you start to imagine how this garment or dress came to be. From colors to patriotism Balenciaga made it apparent where he was most inspired. Not many can say that they are so inspirational that they have their own exhibit at the De Young, but its only obvious that this exhibit among beautiful is also some type of inspiration to a young artist or designer. Inspiration is a key part in making something successful, and one should learn from Balenciaga that any experience or aspect of their own life should be represented in their work. This is only making the piece more personal and impactful. Overall the exhibit was phenomenal, but the message and hidden stories behind each tassel or bow proves why Balenciaga is so renown. Without reason there is not much to aspire too but when leaving the narrow shadowed walls of the exhibit there is no way of not thinking to yourself, what is my inspiration?
