Balenciaga: Addressing misconceptions concerning his fashion press policies

Abstract

This article interrogates the reputation, prevalent to this day, of Balenciaga as being anti-advertising and anti-media, according to some of his contemporary journalists as well as some of his employees and clients. The study contextualizes Balenciaga in the framework of the influence of the fashion press and the reality of the French couture licensing business in the North American fashion market from 1937 to 1968, his years on the international scene. Based on the analysis of the issues of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and Women’s Wear Daily for the same period, the research demonstrates that the designer had not always been so scornful of the media. He really was a discreet man, but this does not mean he hated the press, as his designs often appeared in the most influential fashion magazines. The article argues that the negative view in the media’s perception of him was generalized after his veto to the press in January 1956 – a decision he took for business reasons – and was retroactively attributed to his entire professional life.