A History of Balenciaga: Groundbreaking Couture, Controversies, ‘Cancellation’ and Demna’s Reinvention

Balenciaga’s fall 2024 fashion show once again proved the brand’s viral appeal. Set on a palm tree-lined street in the Windsor Square neighborhood of Los Angeles, Demna’s latest designs parodied the city’s celebrity culture, sending garishly large sheepskin boots and leather Erewhon grocery bags down the runway. Today, Balenciaga, a brand known and loved for its kitschy couture, hardly resembles its unmistakably haute origins. However, much like the tenure of its originator, Cristóbal Balenciaga, the label’s modernization has simultaneously been the subject of public acclaim and controversy. Cristóbal Balenciaga carefully studied clothesmaking in his childhood, spending hours observing his mother, who worked as a seamstress. In his teenage years, Balenciaga was recruited by the Marquesa de Casa Torres, a local noblewoman, who patronized his promising sewing skills by sending him to Madrid, where he received a formal education in fashion. The rest, as they say, is history. Below, WWD chronicles the label’s legendary — albeit dramatic — saga. Who Is Cristóbal Balenciaga? Founder of the Fashion House Cristóbal Balenciaga in 1927. Balenciaga launched his namesake label in 1917 with the opening of a boutique in the resort town of San Sebastián, Spain. Madrid and Barcelona branches followed as Balenciaga’s brand began picking up steam. Members of

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