Balenciaga

Exhibition: Christobal Balenciaga – Collector of Fashions

A little timing explanation and some previous background is in due to this post, yes.

Balenciaga Bolero, 1958

A day after a long and very busy fashion week in Tel Aviv has ended, this miracle has happened: The opening night of a magical exhibition for my favorite brand, Balenciaga, has come. Timing is everything for sure. I was so exhausted and down after 3.5 days of 6-8 runways a day, reporting to the newspaper during and after each show and not resting at all. Anticlimax was awaiting me, along with so many mixed emotions concerning the Israeli fashion scene. To make a long story short, the exhibition at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art was the best pick-me-up I could ask for, for the simplest reasons: I needed something to remind me that fashion is art, and is not necessarily commercialised from scratch. I needed a reminder of craftmanship, of high quality embroidery, of composition, of superiority. I needed Balenciaga to balance myself and to remember why I work in fashion. Walking through the models exhibited and the glass drawers during opening night was not enough for me. I knew I had to go back and enjoy every piece with myself, alone, as opening night was packed. It’s a very good thing, but I needed my time. I came back a few days after with my camera, and took pictures of all the models, both those which were designed by Cristobal Balenciaga and also of those which inspired his work and he chose to collect and cherish in the Balenciaga archives.

This is my chance to say thank you to the wonderful people at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art for working so hard and bringing this beautiful exhibition here. One look at the pieces emphasises how hard and complicated this must have been for them and it is important for me to say – it’s highly appreciated, thank you.

If you are in Tel Aviv this winter and wish to see the exhibition, it is open until April 28 2013. More details in this link.

xx,

Hilla Ohayon.