Born in 1914, Balmain had arrived in Paris in the early thirties, with the original intention of studying architecture. He soon became fascinated with haute couture, which he called: "the architecture of movement". He applied to the studio of Edward Molyneux and then moved to Lucien Lelong, with whom Christian Dior had also obtained a position. Both designers dreamed of having their own couture houses and when the chance at funding came along, Pierre Balmain left Lelong. His first collection in the fall 1945, made it straight into the pages of American Vogue. Four years later he opened a Balmain store in New York, where he had prêt-à-porter clothes produced from his couture designs. By 1956 Balmain had twelve workshops and about 600 employees. His specialty was waisted evening gowns with wide tapering skirts decorated with motifs such as leaves and srolls. He also introduced another silhouette, which resembled an upturned champagne glass. In 1977 Pierre Balmain sold his business and died five years later.
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| Pierre Balmain |
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