MICAM and Milano Moda Donna in February 2025 were the occasion to celebrate the 130th anniversary of the birth of the great Spanish couturier at Palazzo Morando in Milan.
«A couturier must be an architect for form, a painter for colour, a musician for harmony and a philosopher for measure». In the words of Cristóbal Balenciaga himself, we find the essence of his creativity and of what can rightly be called art. Art of constructing a dress by combining all these elements. An art that has allowed Balenciaga’s creativity to be a timeless benchmark. A continuous inspiration.
From a dialogue between Cristóbal Balenciaga’s DNA and the contemporary creativity of the Spanish footwear industry, the project of the Milan exhibition “CRISTÓBAL BALENCIAGA | Shoes from Spain Tribute”, of which he is organiser and curator, was born in the mind and will of Javier Echeverría Sola.
The project is promoted by the Federation of Spanish Footwear Industries (FICE) and, in particular, its president Rosana Perán, who is also president of the European Footwear Confederation (CEC) and vice-president of the Pikolinos group.
«This exhibition is a dialogue between the values of creativity, quality, excellence, know-how and innovation that defined the Haute Couture ateliers of master Cristóbal Balenciaga. Values that are still alive today in the craftsmanship of our shoe companies – as we like to say, travelling from tradition to innovation», says Rosana Perán.
Cristóbal Balenciaga is known for his revolutionary approach to the female silhouette. With this in mind, FICE decided to create an exhibition that would bring together two realities of Spanish DNA – the myth of the great couturier and the most brilliant exponents of the Spanish footwear industry today. The exhibition was therefore the bridge to present the tradition of Marca España in Milan, the prestigious world fashion capital and symbol of Made in Italy.
Twenty-five models by Cristóbal Balenciaga were presented, in an unprecedented exhibition, from museum and private collections. These were matched with a series of shoes, made by an equal number of Spanish brands, carefully selected by a professional jury. Exemplary in this context was the archive material, which included newspapers and photographs from the couturier’s decades of activity.
The shoes, made exclusively for this event, were produced by 25 Spanish companies, which are part of the more than 400 companies represented by the Federation of Spanish Footwear Industries (FICE), which brings together around 90% of the national footwear production: Alhamas, Alohas, Casteller, Chie Mihara, Creaciones S. W., De Flores Y Floreros, Flabelus, Gaimo, Hispanitas, Kanna, Lottusse, Magnanni, Magrit, Martinelli, Mascaró, Pedro Garcia, Pedro Miralles, Pertini, Pikolinos, Pitillos, Pons Quintana, Pretty Ballerinas, Ras, Ria Menorca and Zinda.
