Handwritten letter from Pierre Balmain

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Pierre Balmain, the creator of the famous French fashion house, praises a deceased designer friend.

• Handwritten letter from Pierre Balmain to the widow of a designer friend we have not yet identified, perhaps Molyneux or Lucien Lelong.
• Three pages.
• In French.
• 16cm x 20cm.
• October 12, year not specified.
• Excellent condition.
• Unique piece.

Extracts

If you lose a lot, we all lose in him an understanding friend and a man of good taste who throughout his life worked for elegance and quality (...). And suddenly all the memories of that trusting collaboration with this great lord of textiles come back to my thoughts - these memories weave my entire life as a couturier - from Rue Royale to Rue François 1er, passing through Avenida Matignon (...) preserving this profession that he loved with a true creative quality to help our country maintain its supremacy in the world (...). Pierre Balmain

Pierre Balmain (1914 - 1982) is the designer who created the famous French luxury brand of the same name. This seemed to be his destiny, as Balmain's father was the owner of a wholesale clothing business and his mother ran a fashion boutique with her sisters, where the young Balmain came into contact with beautiful women and clothes.

After working for other designers, such as the young Christian Dior, he created his fashion house in 1945. The first collection was presented in Vogue magazine with the following comment from the journalist: "beautiful clothes that you really want to wear" . Balmain quickly spread his brand internationally and designed avant-garde clothes for stars such as Marlene Dietrich, Katharine Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot and princesses and queens from around the world.

The fame and success of the Balmain brand has grown steadily over the decades, becoming a multinational company with more than 600 employees. Interesting fact, Balmain discovered another great talent, Karl Lagerfeld, whom he hired in 1954, after judging a competition in which the young Austrian designer won.

Letters written by great French designers are rare, most being preserved by museums or the haute couture houses themselves. This autograph document, in addition to being in excellent condition, long and entirely handwritten, with a large signature, is particularly interesting because Pierre Balmain talks about fashion and his pride in France, through paying homage to another deceased designer.