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As most fashion brands have established style idioms as part of their visual vocabulary, no other house has historically put as much effort into black as Balenciaga. However, unlike the light aqua known as Tiffany blue or the blazing orange of Hermes, black at Balenciaga is not an advertising gimmick. On the contrary, it is the signature hue that allowed Cristobal Balenciaga (1895-1972) to focus on creating a sculptural vision of women's clothing that became the main pillar of his design ethic and synonymous with creative integrity, rather than marketing with its many manifestations that often dilute, but not enhance, the message. Balenciaga's kinship with the color black was multi-layered. Rooted in his Spanish childhood, the color for him is imbued with references to matadors, folklore, piety, austerity and more. The pronounced contrast of light and dark is created when black is in contact with the scorching sun, particularly piercing in Spain, and it played a central role in the visual effec
