Abstract

Cristóbal Balenciaga is widely recognized as one of the leading twentieth century couturiers. His dynamic designs redefined fashionable silhouettes internationally. This paper will consider the impact of his designs in Britain, focusing upon how London wholesale couturiers copied, adapted and took inspiration from his garments. The majority of London wholesale couturiers’ garments were copied or adapted from Parisian haute couture. They modified these designs to meet ready-to-wear manufacturing techniques, producing high-quality garments targeted at a middle-class consumer. By focusing on two silhouettes introduced in the late 1950s; the sack and baby doll, this paper discusses how these firms translated Balenciaga’s designs. The sack, in particular, was rapidly adapted by London wholesale couturiers who managed to successfully modify it for the ready-to-wear market. By drawing on a range of source material, including original garments, newspaper and magazine editorials, this paper will evaluate how Balenciaga’s design esthetic was translated by wholesale couturiers for consumption by a middle-class public in the 1950s.

摘要

CristóbalBalenciaga被公认为是20世纪领先的时装设计师之一。他动感十足的设计在国际上重新定义了时尚轮廓。本文将考虑他的设计在英国的影响，重点是伦敦批发设计师如何复制，改编并从他的服装中汲取灵感。伦敦大多数批发时装设计师的服装都是从巴黎高级时装中复制或改编的。他们修改了这些设计，以适应成衣制造技术，生产针对中产阶级消费者的高质量服装。通过关注1950年代后期推出的两个轮廓；袋和娃娃，本文讨论了这些公司如何翻译Balenciaga的设计。特别是麻袋 由伦敦批发设计师迅速改编，他们成功地将其修改为成衣市场。通过借鉴各种原始材料，包括原始服装，报纸和杂志社论，本文将评估Balenciaga的设计美学是如何由批发设计师翻译的，以供1950年代的中产阶级大众消费。