July 28, 2019

A dress fit for a princess

Add Madrid to girlfriends and fashion and it is guaranteed to equal fun! Following a group whatsapp proposal four chirpy ladies headed to the Thyssen museum to discover what connected the work of Cristobal Balenciaga, the most admired and influential fashion designer of all times, with the tradition of 16th to 20th-century Spanish painting.

I have visited a few Balenciaga exhibits in Paris over the years but this one was unique. Who knew that references to Spanish art and culture are a recurring presence in Balenciaga’s work? Over a span of five decades he managed to revive historic garments and reinterpret them in a strikingly modern manner.

We admired over 90 items of clothing and accessories and 50 paintings of great names of Spanish art, such as El Greco, Velázquez, Zurbarán and Goya, all inspiring the work of the influential Basque fashion designer. This explosive cocktail combining talent and colours caught all our admiration of the beauty of creativity and the detail in exquisite handcraft.

All four of us wondered where the clothes had come from? It seems some of the Balenciaga pieces on display were lost and then resurfaced. The name of Hamish Bowles intrigued us. A quick google to discover he is a fashion collector extraordinaire who loaned some of his discoveries, including a flower-embroidered top he first saw at the age of 12, when it was auctioned off for £60 at a jumble sale.

Apparently the thirteen masterpieces from the Prado are so exceptional that they cannot leave Spain, or in one case cannot even leave the palace. So it’s impossible for the exhibition to travel. The insurance is so high! Therefore my suggestion would be: gather some girlfriends and have yourself a jolly outing to Madrid... it is worth it!


Ignacio Zuloaga's "Portrait of María del Rosario de Silva y Gurtubay, Duchess of Alba" behind a taffeta evening gown from 1952 and echoed in the flounces of a pink cocktail dress - my personal favourite!


Stunning Francisco de Goya, "Cardinal Luis Maria de Borbón y Vallabriga" against a satin dress and jacket with metallic thread, sequins and ceramic beads (1960)


Juan Carreño de Miranda’s portrait of Doña María de Vera y Gasca and Balenciaga's modern reinterpretation of the Velázquezian shape


"Christ Blessing" by El Greco magnificently reflected in pink and blue evening dresses


El Greco's "The Annunciation" against evening gowns in silk organza (1968)


Jet-black dresses presented with a dense, dark painting by El Greco


The Portrait of the VI Countess of Miranda mirrored in a satin evening gown from 1943


Rodrigo de Villandrando's "Isabel de Borbón, Wife of Philip IV"  was the inspiration to a 1957 wedding dress of silk shantung embroidered with silver thread


An exquisite detail of craftsmanship 


Cristobal Balenciaga (1895-1972), the designer who Christian Dior defined as “the master of us all”


Far left, a satin and mink wedding dress that Balenciaga made for Queen Fabiola of Belgium in 1960, set against portraits by Francisco Zurbarán (1628-34)


Goya's "Queen María Luisa in a dress with hooped skirt" reinventing into an evening gown of satin, pearls and beads from 1963


Antonio María Esquivel's "The Dancer Josefa Vargas" frivolously retaylored into a taffeta and embroidered cotton trim cocktail dress from 1955


The Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum displays over 1,600 paintings. It was once the second largest private collection in the world after the British Royal Collection and was initially housed in the family estate in Lugano until 1988 when the request for building a further extension by Baron Thyssen was rejected by the City Council.

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