It turns out Bee Shaffer was not wearing Chanel at the Met the other night. Rather fittingly, considering the occasion, she was actually wearing Christobal Balenciaga. The dress is part of Nicholas Ghesquiere's 'Balenciaga Edition' collection, which sees him regularly mine Christobal's archives for classic designs which are then remade. I actually don't care who was responsible for this wonder, I love it no matter what. But its true origins certainly don't surprise me. Apparently this is an original 1948 design so I've included another ballgown from the same year above. Christobal must have been in a dusky pink phase.
Below is another example of an Edition dress, and you can check out all the collections (the range began in 2006) on the Balenciaga site. If I had every item in this collection I think I would be the best dressed woman in the world. The man was the king of understated European elegance, and it is nice to think that his classic designs are being reinvigorated and celebrated.
It is amazing how thoroughly modern many of these classic designs from the haute couture greats can look. Just check out Kristin Davis in vintage Balmain at the White House correspondents dinner the other night. She looks like a 21st century version of Jackie Kennedy.
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