Brilliant Balenciaga

Cristóbal Balenciaga is not a designer who's work I've particularly explored, but I was intrigued to visit the V&A exhibition and was so pleased I did!  Balenciaga's exquisite craftsmanship and innovative designs were stunning.  His work is beautifully architectural and you can imagine his designs not looking out of place on today's catwalks - the shapes of the coats and dresses were particularly modern.  Combining minimalism, volume and innovative pattern cutting, Balenciaga has inspired many other contemporary designers. Some of them, such as Molly Goddard and Gareth Pugh, feature in a short film at the exhibition which gave an insight into how they work and Balenciaga's influence on their own designs alongside displays of their collections.  For more info on the exhibition click here

Cristobel Balenciaga “the father of contemporary fashion”

My attempt at a 'One Seam coat' - super simple but incredibly effective. It'd be interesting to take some of Balenciaga's techniques and apply them to jewellery and certainly something I'd like to explore in future collections.