Over the weekend I visited the Victoria and Albert Museum, on elf my favourite places to visit in London. The historical costumes on display are incredible. I mainly went to visit the Balenciaga Exhibition that was on. His costumes are inspiring on so many levels. Each of the costumes on show had a relevance to a different time period of country of origin. One of the pieces was inspired by India. It was based on a traditional Sari, usually formed of a single long piece of fabric which is pleated and wrapped around the body. The Balenciaga couture version is created using many different pieces. The outer layers are sewn and hooked to a boned underdress. A mock drape then falls from the back to the front of the dress to give a traditional feel.
The dress is stunning and Balenciagas way of designing garments in a modern way that keeps their origin is fascinating.
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