Balenciaga
Cristóbal Balenciaga’s house, founded in San Sebastián and in Paris from 1937; known for sculptural forms such as the sack dress (1957).
Cristóbal Balenciaga opened his first house in San Sebastián and moved to Paris when the Spanish Civil War broke out. His technical skill in cutting was legendary, and his colleagues called him the master of couture.
In the 1950s he simplified the silhouette with the tunic, the sack dress and the baby-doll dress. He closed his house in 1968; the name was revived much later, and Balenciaga is today one of the major fashion houses.
Couture labels carry the address 10 Avenue George V.