Jacket

Waist-length V-neck jacket. Fastens at the front with the prolongation of the sides in black satin, which turn into a belt that wraps around the body several times. The sleeves are long, extending beyond the natural line of the wrist and open at the end like a funnel.

This piece, made in the workshops of San Sebastian, displays a complex pattern. The back and the sleeves are cut in one piece, reproducing the typical sleeve of Chinese clothing, which finishes at the cuff in the shape of a horse’s hoof. In his later creations, Balenciaga would prefer the French three-quarter-length sleeve which showed the wrists.

This nod to Oriental historical fashion contrasts with the ribbons that wrapped around the waist and ended in a bow – very much in fashion in the thirties – and attempts to narrow the waist to the maximum, creating a very feminine silhouette.