Balenciaga

Cristóbal Balenciaga, the Spanish couturier who settled in Paris in 1937 after beginning his career in San Sebastián in 1917, was the one Dior called "the master of us all": inventor of the tunic, the bowler bag, and sculptural silhouettes decades ahead of their time. Dormant after his retirement in 1968, the house was revived in the 1990s and joined Kering in 2001. Under Demna's direction, Balenciaga has become one of the most influential and debated labels in contemporary fashion, straddling the line between reimagined couture and radical streetwear.