Passion for Fashion (123) Tue, 8th Dec 2020 GMT/BST Viewing: For more information on viewing appointments, please call the office. Lot 116

Estimate: £4000 - £6000 + Fees A fine Balenciaga couture yellow satin sheath, Autumn- Winter 1962-63, Paris labelled and numbered 82706, of brilliant Chinese- yellow Duchesse satin, the sculpted, boned bodice with upwardly-curved front panel cut in one with the bodice front and looped, low shoulder straps which culminate centre-back in a cascading looped satin streamer which descends to the hem and conceals the rear zip and hook closure, low scooped U-shaped rear waist seam, in which the skirt is gently gathered, integral ivory grosgrain silk corset with wired, plush-trimmed breast cups, bust 81cm, 32in, waist 56cm, 22in Literature: A photograph of the House model wearing an identical dress (no 191) is illustrated in 'Balenciaga & Spain', p223. A similar dress with rear bow to closure is illustrated in 'Balenciaga', Cristobal Balenciaga Museo, p272. This dress combines spectacular colour with an ingenious sculpted shape and superb construction. For Spring 1962, Cristobal Balenciaga and his close friend Hubert de Givenchy, tired of the Paris Fashion Week circus and annoyed with detrimental comments in previous seasons made by the fashion press, controversially decided to show their collections a month later than everyone else. Admittance to the salons (both Houses faced each other on the George V) was strictly controlled. They admitted first their important private clients, overseas buyers, agents and last of all - the press. Balenciaga's collections were sometimes considered by the fashion press to be too avant-garde (however strange that may seem to us today) and the journalists occasionally made disparaging comments that could put off potential buyers. However, Balenciaga needn't have worried - press and clients alike adored the collection. 'The collection of this top couturier expresses both an exquisite femininity and an aristocratic elegance, and seems to have reached a pinnacle of excellence that is difficult to translate into words: everything is in the secret of the stunning cut, the mystery of lines apparently simple but artfully achieved.' L'OFFICIELL DE LA COUTURE ET DE LA MODE DE PARIS, April 1962 'His rejection of easiness and the ingenious architecture of his models have created a style apart (or rather ahead), spare, vigorous, spectacular, inimitable, prophetic'. ELLE, 23rd March, 1962.