02691nam a2200325Ia 450000100070000000500170000700800410002401000170006502000290008204000280011104200080013904300210014705000240016808200220019210000240021424500760023825000190031426000490033330000500038233700130043233800150044552015150046052001200197550400410209560000450213665000420218165000510222365000500227465000410232433268720201112140239.0151006s2013    nyua     b    000 0beng    a  2012029933  a9780374298739 (hardback)  aDLCbengcDLCerdadDLC  apcc  ae-sp---ae-fr---00aTT505.B28bB59 201300a746.9/2092aB2231 aBlume, Mary.2Local14aThe master of us allbBalenciaga, his workrooms, his worldcMary Blume.  aFirst edition. 1aNew YorkbFarrar, Straus and Girouxc©2013.  a228 pagesbillustrations (some color)c22 cm.  2rdamedia  2rdacarrier  a"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 said that he was the only designer who dared to do as he liked. He was, said Christian Dior, "the master of us all." But despite his extraordinary impact, he 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 never met him. But one woman knew Balenciaga better than anyone else. The first person he hired when he opened his Paris house, furnished with only a table and a chair, Florette Chelot 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 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"--cProvided by publisher.  a"The sparkling life of the monumental fashion designer Cristobal Balenciaga. A biography"--cProvided by publisher.  aIncludes bibliographical references.10aBalenciaga, Cristobald1895-1972.2Local 0aFashion designerszFrancevBiography. 0aFashion designzFrancexHistoryy20th century. 0aFashion designzSpainxHistoryy20th century. 0aFashion designerszSpainvBiography.