Balenciaga was the couturier's couturier — then it was sold to Gucci and became a logo

Cristóbal Balenciaga was the most respected couturier of the 20th century. Dior called him 'the master of us all.' His designs were architectural, austere, and technically perfect. In 1968, rather than see his house become a licensing machine, Balenciaga closed it. He died four years later.

The brand was revived in 1986 and sold to the Gucci Group (now Kering) in 2001. Under Kering, Balenciaga went through a series of creative directors, each trying to reconcile the house's couture heritage with the group's commercial strategy. In 2015, Demna Gvasalia was appointed creative director, and Balenciaga became a streetwear brand: oversized hoodies, logo sneakers, and viral marketing.

The transformation was commercially successful: Balenciaga's revenue grew from €100M to over €1B under Gvasalia. But the couture house that Dior called 'the master of us all' became a logo on a hoodie. The French fashion trade tells the story as the definitive case of a heritage brand that was sold to a conglomerate and became a different kind of company.