As a new film about the legendary Spanish designer hits the small screen… How to bag a Balenciaga-style bargain

He dressed Grace Kelly and Wallis Simpson. Cecil Beaton compared his creative genius to that of Picasso, while Coco Chanel and Christian Dior revered him.

“The king is dead!” read the Women’s Wear Daily headline announcing his death in 1972.

And now the life of the secretive Spanish designer, considered the master of Parisian haute couture, is the subject of a new six-part Disney+ series, simply called Cristóbal Balenciaga. It sheds light not only on the scandals of his life, but also on how much fashion owes him.

He abhorred logos and instantly recognizable motifs, so there is no Balenciaga equivalent of a Chanel boucle jacket or a Lady Dior bag.

Yet so many of the items we take for granted today – the funnel neck, the cape dress – were his creations.

Here’s our guide on how to get the Balenciaga look – on a budget.

BIGGEST CAPES

Balenciaga’s autumn/winter ’23 show received extraordinary attention, not least because it was the house’s first since the advertising scandal that engulfed it in 2022.

A return to an iconic Balenciaga creation – the cape dress – seemed sensible.

Models stormed the catwalk in artfully draped designs that the house’s founder would surely have approved of.

A deep red cape dress from Balenciaga costs £8,850 today. Goodness. The Karen Millen £116 version might have to do it.

SPIN A COCOON

Dior’s ‘New Look’ that became popular in the 1950s was characterized by hourglass shapes that created a hyper-feminine silhouette.

Balenciaga, with his naturally disruptive style, sat back with his balloon-style cocoon coat and baby doll dress.

These were sculptural and not restrictive; form-framing instead of straitjacket.

The Disney+ series features a model in a monochrome balloon dress that would have required the architectural skills Sir Christopher Wren needed for the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral.

Strange to think that removing the waist was so controversial at the time. Cocoon shapes are now the basis of high street collections.

A cocoon coat from Balenciaga costs around £3,000, but head to Winser London for a flattering version on sale for £99, and available in three colours.

ROLL WITH IT

With the turtleneck, Balenciaga did for women in the 1950s what top surgeons on Harley Street do for them today. He squeezed and stopped, but through the fabric. He was known for his obsessive precision. And turkey braid or not, there’s an unparalleled joy in wearing what is essentially a built-in scarf during the winter months.

A turtleneck on Balenciaga’s website costs £2,290. For that price you might as well go to Harley Street. But don’t worry: the shopping street is teeming with things. H&M has a boxy turtleneck in a vibrant cerise, reduced to just £15 (hm.com).

ROCK THE BOAT (NECK)

Meghan Markle’s wedding dress wasn’t designed by Balenciaga, but it could have been. This is no coincidence: after all, it was Givenchy, a fashion house whose founder was Balenciaga’s protégé.

The structure of Meghan’s dress — the way it stood away from the body instead of skimming over it — and the boat neck were so Balenciaga.

The designer popularized the neckline as an alternative, for older customers, to Dior’s strapless designs. It allowed them to show a hint of shoulder without baring it all.

It remains a subtly elegant look today. Nicole Kidman attended Balenciaga’s A/W ’24 show last December in a boat-neck coat dress.

Boden’s boat-neck jumpers (£130, boden.co.uk) are a versatile piece.

BOW DOWN

Balenciaga had to manipulate the fabric with geometric precision so that it could retain the intricate shapes he loved.

Outsized arcs were the ultimate test of this geometry. For example, the one that adorned the back of his 1965 Tulip Dress required origami-like technique.

Nicole Kidman opted for a Balenciaga dress with bows for a film premiere last September – a custom version of a dress seen on the fashion house’s A/W ’23 haute couture runway.

Bows also adorn the brand’s shoes. A tribute to Balenciaga’s £745 bow mules can be found at Zara for £35.99.