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The Master Of Us All
Mary Blume
Balenciaga, His Workrooms, His World
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
February 2013
On Sale: February 5, 2013
240 pages
ISBN: 0374298734
EAN: 9780374298739
Kindle: B00AJI08MS
Hardcover / e-Book
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Non-Fiction Biography
A sparkling life of the monumental fashion designer
Cristóbal Balenciaga When Cristóbal Balenciaga died in 1972, the news hit the
front page of The New York Times. One of the most
innovative and admired figures in the history of haute
couture, Balenciaga was, said Schiaparelli, “the only
designer who dares do what he likes.” He was, said Christian
Dior,“the master of us all.” But despite his extraordinary impact, Balenciaga was a man
hidden from view. Unlike today’s celebrity designers, he saw
to it that little was known about him, to the point that
some French journalists wondered if he existed at all. Even
his most notable and devoted clients—Marlene Dietrich,
Barbara Hutton, a clutch of Rothschilds—never met him. But one woman knew Balenciaga very well indeed. The first
person he hired when he opened his Paris house (then
furnished with only a table and a stool) was Florette
Chelot, who became his top vendeuse—as much an adviser as a
saleswoman. She witnessed the spectacular success of his
first collection, and they worked closely for more than
thirty years, until 1968, when Balenciaga abruptly closed
his house without telling any of his staff. Youth-oriented
fashion was taking over, Paris was in upheaval, and the
elder statesman wanted no part of it. In The Master of Us All , Mary Blume tells the
remarkable story of the man and his house through the eyes
of the woman who knew him best. Intimate and revealing, this
is an unprecedented portrait of a designer whose vision
transformed an industry but whose story has never been told
until now.
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