Artist Info
Pierre Balmain
Pierre Balmain was born in St Jean de Maurienne, Savoie in 1914. He owed his early training to the two greatest designers of the time - Molyneux and Lucien Lelong. He opened his own Haute Couture house immediately following the Second World War, the Rue Francois 1er in Paris. Clients quickly flocked to Balmain, & were thrilled to discover the new image he had created for them. The Balmain woman shed the last vestiges of wartime hardship with abundant insouciance & charm, & heralded a return to opulence in richly embroidered gowns and ensembles.
Author Gertrude Stein, a friend of Balmain's, saluted the advent of this "New French Style" in her writing. This image of an active, irrepressible, perfectly groomed, elegant woman with a touch of independence in her nature took root & was embodied in the "Jolie Madame", emblematic of the 1950s. Pierre Balmain disappeared in 1982. The torch was passed to Erik Mortensen - his personal assistant since 1951 & his closest collaborator.
