Pierre Balmain
| Pierre Balmain | |
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Pierre Balmain and the actress Ruth Ford, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1947
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| Born |
Pierre Alexandre Claudius Balmain May 18, 1914 Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, Savoie, France |
| Died | 29 June 1982 (aged 68) Paris, France |
| Occupation | Fashion designer |
| Notable credit(s) | Neiman Marcus Fashion Award, 1955; Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur, 1962; knight of the Order of the Dannebrog, 1963; Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design winner and Tony Award for Best Costume Design nominee, 1980 |
Pierre Alexandre Claudius Balmain (French pronunciation: [pjɛʁ balmɛ̃], b. Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, Savoie, 18 May 1914 – Paris, France, 29 June 1982) was a French fashion designer and founder of leading post-war fashion house Balmain. Known for sophistication and elegance, he described the art of dressmaking as "the architecture of movement."
Balmain's father, who died when the future designer was seven years old, was the owner of a wholesale drapery business. His mother Françoise ran a fashion boutique called Galeries Parisiennes with her sisters. He went to school at Chambéry and, during weekends with his uncle in the spa town of Aix-les-Bains, his interest in couture fashion was inspired by society women he met.
Balmain began studying architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts in 1933, also undertaking freelance work drawing for the designer Robert Piguet. After visiting the studio of Edward Molyneux in 1934, he was offered a job, leaving his studies and working for the designer for the succeeding five years. He joined Lucien Lelong during World War II – where he met the young designer Christian Dior.
Pierre Balmain died of liver cancer at the American Hospital of Paris. He was 68 years old and had just completed the sketches for his fall collection.
His companion was the Danish designer Erik Mortensen, who worked as a designer at Balmain from 1948 until 1991. Margit Brandt worked as a young designer with Pierre Balmain in the early 1960s. Balmain also spotted the talent of Karl Lagerfeld, hiring him in 1954 after judging a fashion competition that the young German designer won.
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