Coat, Silk façonnée matelassée, 1962. Galliera, musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris.

Musée Bourdelle is a very special little museum hidden away behind Gare Montparnasse and the monumental sculptures it shows could be a little daunting if some lighter beauties did not come to keep them company. After a magistral Madame Grès show four years ago, Cristobal Balenciaga (1895-1972) is the new guest. «L’œuvre au noir », a collection of 110 black dresses by the Spanish couturier is again a great success !

Evening dress in gazar shantung embroidered with pink pearls, Winter 1963, Palais Galliera

Olivier Saillard who runs Palais Galliera, invented a season of Spanish fashion which will continue with traditional Spanish costumes at Musée Victor Hugo in June, and Mariano Fortuny at Galliera in October.

A photograph of the Four corner dress which only has a front and a back seam,©Balenciaga Archives Paris

He and Amélie Simier, director of the Bourdelle museum, could not have picked a better theme to exhibit among the monumental works by the Montauban born sculptor. There are fabulous views through the galleries and Balenciaga’s genius of details beautifully complements the enormous plaster and bronze statues.

I was lucky again to be introduced to Gaspard de Massé, the curator of Balenciaga’s archives, who patiently explained each dress, embroidered  cock feathers and square “emmanchures”. All these black dresses (there is a little white and a litte pink in the last rooms) could be tedious if you did not pay attention to details, fabrics, reflections.

Black gazar dress, 1962, Palais Gallliera

Lurex, gazar, which Balenciaga invented with Abraham in 1958, satin, horsehair, lace, plastic sequins and glass beads, make everything glitter.

My favourite dress is an evening gown with a velvet bodice and a silk taffeta skirt. At the waist, feathers are embroidered with sequins.

In the first room, a few black patrons are shown flat in cases and the “Robe quille” from 1940 with a sleeve “coudée” and “froncée” in crèpe de soie is simple and fabulous. It is quite impressive to see that Balenciaga kept on dressing ladies throughout the war and managed to get fabric from Spain.

Amélie Simier, director of Musée Bourdelle and Véronique Belloir, curator of the show for Galliera in the first majestic studio

Christian Dior said of Balenciaga « Clothes were his religion » and there is a certain austerity in all these dresses made for balls and entertainment. He uses black as a vibrant colour, matt or shiny, and creates “a dazzling interplay of light which owes to the luxurious quality of the fabrics”.

My favorite dress: velvet, embroidered coq feathers, taffetas, Winter 1965

Lace, embroidery, shiny horsehair under the gazar, handpainted fringes, jet beads, everything glitters in the show. The “Baby doll” dress in cloqué de coton, the “Four Corner” dress (with only two seams) are among the most striking, technically, but all have a particular décoleté or special emmanchure..

Hat in Gazar, 1967, Galliera, musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris, photo Julien Vidal

With approximately half of the dresses, Galliera shows their large collection and Véronique Belloir, the curator of the show was very pleased by the general decor.

Installation of the dresses among the sculptures at Musée Bourdelle

After two years of preparation, this is a major fashion statement and Olivier Saillard managed to make it super trendy and modern as usual.

A rare photograph of Cristobal Balenciaga

I must say I have a hard time with his black on black backgrounds for the dresses. But Bourdelle’s statues make for a very luminous decor.

(Until July 16, 18 rue Antoine Bourdelle, Paris 15)