Photo: Nicky Hilton posing with a Balenciaga handbag
Photo: Balenciaga Le Dix Motorcycle city handbag with matching purse and leather belt
Balenciaga, a fashion house founded by Spanish designer Cristóbal Balenciaga in 1918, is known for their uncompromising standards, and is now owned by Gucci, a subsidiary of PPR, the French multinational company.
It is said that Jacqueline Kennedy upset President John F. Kennedy by buying Balenciaga's expensive creations; because he feared that the American public might think the purchases were too lavish, and hence Jackie’s haute couture bills were discreetly paid by her father-in-law, Joseph Kennedy.
Now Balenciaga is the favourite of many Hollywood celebrities, for instance, they designed the dresses worn by Jennifer Connelly and Nicole Kidman to the 2006 Academy Awards, and the wedding gown Kidman wore for her recent marriage to Keith Urban. Another celebrity, singer Kylie Minogue, also wore a Balenciaga dress for her ‘Slow’ and ‘Red Blooded Woman’ music videos and for her concert tour.
Currently the brand Balenciaga is most famous for its line of motorcycle-inspired handbags, with their retail outlets in New York, Los Angeles, Costa Mesa, and another one in Las Vegas inside Caesers Palace, selling only accessories. In recent times the Balenciaga line also included jodhpurs, fitted blazers, beaded embellished scarves and other multicultural mixes.
