BALENCIAGA
IN THE ARCHIVES
RESPONSIBILITIES
Assisted with conservation and archival methods
Photoshoots for historical and contemporary collections
Performed morphological conservation of garments and shoes
Modeled mannequinage for photoshoots (e.g., Le Chou Noir, 1967)
Organized and adapted contemporary collections
Packaged couture collections for exhibitions and studio
Restored garments in the 51st couture collection
Conducted artifact research for MA Thesis
Created hanger prototypes for intricate dresses
Applied mannequinage for exhibitions
Packed couture pieces for transport
Analyzed and studied garments in the archive
Modeled mannequinage for Figures de Style Exhibition
Photoshoots for historical and contemporary collections
Performed morphological conservation of garments and shoes
Modeled mannequinage for photoshoots (e.g., Le Chou Noir, 1967)
Organized and adapted contemporary collections
Packaged couture collections for exhibitions and studio
Restored garments in the 51st couture collection
Conducted artifact research for MA Thesis
Created hanger prototypes for intricate dresses
Applied mannequinage for exhibitions
Packed couture pieces for transport
Analyzed and studied garments in the archive
Modeled mannequinage for Figures de Style Exhibition
SKILLS
Conservation techniques
Archival methods
Photoshoot assistance
Morphological garment conservation
Mannequinage modeling
Functional organization of collections
Packaging and handling couture collections
Garment restoration
Artifact research
Prototype creation (hangers)
Volume construction techniques
Garment analysis
Archival methods
Photoshoot assistance
Morphological garment conservation
Mannequinage modeling
Functional organization of collections
Packaging and handling couture collections
Garment restoration
Artifact research
Prototype creation (hangers)
Volume construction techniques
Garment analysis
MA RESEARCH ON EXHIBITION
DOVER STREET MARKET, PARIS
The Transformational Value of a Dress Artifact:
From the Catwalk to the Archive
Every time a garment enters, interacts, and performs in or outside the archive, a layer is added to its historical, cultural, and symbolic significance, affecting the garment’s value. This research explores the creation, trajectory, and transformational value of a dress artifact and its iterations, as it enters and interacts with sources in and outside of the Balenciaga archives. By analysing the transformational value of a dress artifact, my work investigates the hierarchies of values to which garments attach, create, reinforce, and potentially dismantle forms of hierarchy and power in fashion.
Following the life of a garment like the Look 145, from Cristobal Balenciaga’s Winter 1966 collection to its most recent re-appearance in 2023, I show the different social and cultural meanings that this object assumed in time and space. The transformational value of Look 145 is represented through three areas: The archival value. The value of body and the value of media and entertainment. Through an interdisciplinary object-based study approach, I use a variety of sources, consisting of interviews, sketches, images, and videos to follow several iterations of Look 145 and reveal how the dress artifact has gained cultural and social value beyond its design. This being the value of luxury, royalty, a disciplinary object, being in the spotlight, the designer’s name and the ‘knowhow’. This research contributes to the field of Fashion and Cultural studies and brings light to a space that often goes unnoticed.
FULL RESEARCH DOCUMENTARY
REQUEST RESEARCH PAPER
DOVER STREET MARKET, PARIS
The Transformational Value of a Dress Artifact:
From the Catwalk to the Archive
Every time a garment enters, interacts, and performs in or outside the archive, a layer is added to its historical, cultural, and symbolic significance, affecting the garment’s value. This research explores the creation, trajectory, and transformational value of a dress artifact and its iterations, as it enters and interacts with sources in and outside of the Balenciaga archives. By analysing the transformational value of a dress artifact, my work investigates the hierarchies of values to which garments attach, create, reinforce, and potentially dismantle forms of hierarchy and power in fashion.
Following the life of a garment like the Look 145, from Cristobal Balenciaga’s Winter 1966 collection to its most recent re-appearance in 2023, I show the different social and cultural meanings that this object assumed in time and space. The transformational value of Look 145 is represented through three areas: The archival value. The value of body and the value of media and entertainment. Through an interdisciplinary object-based study approach, I use a variety of sources, consisting of interviews, sketches, images, and videos to follow several iterations of Look 145 and reveal how the dress artifact has gained cultural and social value beyond its design. This being the value of luxury, royalty, a disciplinary object, being in the spotlight, the designer’s name and the ‘knowhow’. This research contributes to the field of Fashion and Cultural studies and brings light to a space that often goes unnoticed.
FULL RESEARCH DOCUMENTARY
REQUEST RESEARCH PAPER