The life of Christopher Balenciaga it began and ended in the sea, but on different shores. born in 1895 in the fishing village of Getaria (Guipuzkoa) , the symbol of haute couture was the son of a fisherman who died in a shipwreck and a seamstress who was his first inspiration. The sound of Cantabrian accompanied the icon for much of his life, until the Mediterranean was drawn on his horizon as a late romance.
After retiring from it in 1968, Balenciaga spent his last days in the Alicante town of Jávea, where his fondness for walks and the mild temperatures led him to consider a possible stay in the municipality. Unfortunately, He suffered a heart attack at the Parador de Jávea on March 23, 1972.
The relationship between the couturier and Jávea has driven the show this year The Balenciaga century, curated by Pedro Usabiaga and Lydia Garcia , which is celebrated from July 1 to September 30.
Walk its streets full of bougainvillea
JÁVEA: BALENCIAGA'S LAST WALK
The idea was from Marchioness of Llanzol , one of Balenciaga's close friends. After I withdraw it from him in 1968 , the couturier began to suffer from osteoarthritis, a reason that led him to visit Javea , a town in Alicante where some of his friends from high society used to spend the summer. A warm version of the Gipuzkoan people that throbbed in his memory and promised to improve his health.
“Balenciaga discovered Jávea in the early 70s and he was fascinated by the town, especially by the port area and its beach, since they reminded him of his native Getaria, ”he tells Condé Nast Traveler. Pedro Usabiaga, photographer and curator of the exhibition that Jávea hosts this summer . "Balenciaga used to come in the fall and spring, as the winters here were harsher and didn't sit well with his bones."
Among Balenciaga's favorite places in Jávea we find his parador, or the Cabo de la Nao Lighthouse, to which he used to walk first thing in the morning . Inveterate Flâneur, the couturier loved getting lost in the rough stone streets of the old town in search of his great passion: Alicante regional fashion . Balenciaga was a strong defender of tradition that he fused with modernity throughout his career, and he owned a private collection of traditional clothing from different centuries.
Balenciaga and friends.
The timid relationship between Balenciaga and Jávea began to take hold until, on the third visit, his driver Miguel Carmona acted as Cicero and accompanied the dressmaker to visit different existing properties and those under construction: “Balenciaga loved the climate, the rice dishes in the area and he also had friends from San Sebastian here, so it was a little paradise for him. For days they visited several properties, including the one known as El Tossalet.” However, in the midst of this new life change, Balenciaga had to face his last challenge: the making of the wedding dress of Carmen Martínez-Bordíu, granddaughter of Franciso Franco , whose wedding took place on March 12, 1972.
"When he finished the wedding, he returned to Jávea and was looking at houses with the intention of settling in for a while," Pedro continues. “However, in the parador he suffered a myocardial infarction, followed by cardiac arrest. He was taken to Valencia, where he died on the night of March 23-24. If it hadn't happened, surely. Balenciaga would have lived in Jávea continuously”.
You cannot leave without strolling through Jávea town
A GATEWAY TO THE MEDITERRANEAN
The last steps of Balenciaga make a journey that this year we can all follow through an exhibition that will take place from July 1 to September 30 . The highlight of this tribute will be a monographic exhibition on the origins, career and legacy of the designer whom Chanel herself defined as "a couturier (seamstress) in the true sense of the word".
Cocktail dresses, wedding dresses, hats and accessories donated by private collections can be admired throughout the exhibition in the exhibition halls of the Soler Blanco Museum, the Lambert Arts Center and the Casa del Cable . Among the events mentioned, on July 2, a conference will be held at the Parador Nacional through the different voices linked to Balenciaga, including Lola Gavarrón and Lorenzo Caprile.
During the rest of the summer, the exhibition will host a most stimulating program: the screening of the film “The Invisible Thread” at the Jayan cinema on July 14; a conference on the designer in Jessica Bataille's studio on August 5, or the concert "The Sound of the Two Shores", a fusion of Basque and Mediterranean music by the soprano Teresa Albero and the pianist Jesús Gómez.
On the 50th anniversary of Balenciaga's death, the town of Jávea surrenders to the icon for one last walk and keep dreaming that time has stopped. To check if that boy from the Catábrico, at some point, will leave El Tossalet to walk to the lighthouse once again.
Cristóbal Balenciaga, "the teacher of all of us", according to Christian Dior.