Lesage and Balenciaga

Founded in the 1920s, the French firm Lesage was known for its virtuoso embroidery. Like Cristóbal Balenciaga, François Lesage, who ran the house in the 1950s and 60s, wanted to introduce unusual materials into his couture. This film shows embroiderers at the Lesage workrooms today recreating the hot-pink beading and sequin work of Balenciaga’s 1967 evening coat. The design is marked out on tracing paper and perforated. A mixture of charcoal and resin is then applied to transfer the pattern onto the fabric. The embellishment is then added, layer by layer, to create a precisely gradated design of pearls, teardrop and pink feather-shaped sequins, with Swarovski crystals. 'Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion' is on display at the V&A from 27 May 2017 until 18 February 2018 vam.ac.uk/balenciaga