Overview

• The II International Congress on Cristóbal Balenciaga is underway in Getaria, bringing together international historians, curators and journalists.
• Lesley Ellis Miller, a former V&A fashion and textiles curator now at the University of Glasgow, delivered the inaugural lecture at the Balenciaga museum.
• Speakers present Balenciaga’s guiding principles as a counterpoint to fast fashion, stressing their relevance to current industry debates.
• Journalism professor Álvaro Pérez analyzed 1972 obituaries and press notes, showing how outlets from El Diario Vasco to The New York Times shaped the designer’s posthumous image.
• Foundational scholarship, including Miller’s 1993 monograph and the 1989 volume by Marie-Andrée Jouve and Jacqueline Demornex, is being cited as core references as the second congress builds on an online first edition held in 2020.