Revealing design genius
How do you convey the ingenuity behind a simple looking design? And how can you show details of construction without pulling the original garment apart? These were two dilemmas facing the curators behind the 2017 ‘Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion’ exhibition.
We collaborated with students from London College of Fashion who took patterns from existing garments and created the prototypes (known as toiles) here. We digitised and animated the patterns and toiles to exhibit alongside the originals, revealing the genius of Balenciaga’s pattern cutting and use of fabric.
Written by: Cassie Davies-Strodder, Curator of 'Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion'
Published: May 2025
Description: Replica toile of skirt suit
Maker: Cristóbal Balenciaga (original, museum no. T.128-1970), Ying Wang (toile)
Description: Replica toile of dress
Maker: Cristóbal Balenciaga (original, museum no. T.39-1974), Claire-Louise Hardie (toile)
Working Museum
- Museum Number
- T.756-1972
- Title/Description
- Hat
- Artist/Maker
- Cristóbal Balenciaga
- Location
- Paris
- Date
- ca. 1960
- Materials/Techniques
- Silk (textile), Muslin, Nylon, Weaving, Netting
Discover more
- Museum Number
- T.64-1974
- Title/Description
- Hat
- Artist/Maker
- Cristóbal Balenciaga
- Location
- Paris
- Date
- ca. 1962
- Materials/Techniques
- Leather
- Museum Number
- T.169-1982
- Title/Description
- Picture hat
- Artist/Maker
- Balenciaga, Cristóbal
- Location
- Paris
- Date
- ca. 1955
- Museum Number
- T.757-1972
- Title/Description
- Hat
- Artist/Maker
- Cristóbal Balenciaga
- Location
- Paris
- Date
- ca. 1960
- Materials/Techniques
- Silk (textile), Net, Weaving, Netting
- Museum Number
- T.62-1974
- Title/Description
- Hat
- Artist/Maker
- Cristóbal Balenciaga
- Location
- Paris
- Date
- 1963
- Materials/Techniques
- Organdie
- Museum Number
- T.165-1982
- Title/Description
- Hat
- Artist/Maker
- Balenciaga, Cristóbal
- Location
- Paris
- Date
- 1960s
- Materials/Techniques
- Millinery
