Cristobal Balenciaga (2024) s01e01 Episode Script

1937 Paris is the home of Haute Couture
where the greatest designers
are defining fashion
for the rest of the world.
Cristóbal, son of a fisherman
and a seamstress from Getaria,
moved here with a dream: to become one
of the great masters of Haute Couture.
This series is inspired by his story.
(SOFT MUSIC PLAYS)
(PRIEST TALKING IN FRENCH)
COCO CHANEL'S FUNERAL
PARIS, JANUARY 1971
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS)
(PRIEST CONTINUES TALKING)
(BELLS RING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
- MAN: A photo?
- RAMÓN: Don't, please.
Monsieur Balenciaga.
(IN SPANISH) I'm glad to see you.
Hello.
PRUDENCE: Although many doubted you,
I knew you wouldn't skip it.
Why would I skip it?
After the disagreement
between you and Chanel
(IN FRENCH) Stop, Coco.
PRUDENCE:
Fashion is no longer what it used to be.
All the great ones are leaving us.
Don't you think it's time for you to talk?
CRISTÓBAL: I already gave Paris Match
an interview when I retired.
PRUDENCE:
Well, yes, but it was very brief.
You've been retired for three years,
so you can talk with no burden.
CRISTÓBAL:
No, thank you. Don't insist, please.
I already said so last time.
If you'll excuse me.
Oh, come on, Mr. Balenciaga.
Let us glimpse a little beyond the mystery
that surrounds you.
If you change your mind.
I think I'm going to say yes.
You're still thinking about that?
What do you think?
I already told you, I agree.
Prudence Glynn
is a very reputable journalist in England.
No! I won't do it.
(SIGHS)
CRISTÓBAL'S IGELDO HOUSE
SAN SEBASTIÁN, JUNE 1971
CRISTÓBAL: Good afternoon.
- PRUDENCE: Hi.
PRUDENCE (IN SPANISH):
First of all, I'd like to thank you
for giving me the opportunity
to interview you.
To be honest, I thought
you weren't going to accept my request.
Oh No, no. No recordings, please.
It'll be for personal use,
it won't be featured anywhere.
I'd rather not. I don't like
having my voice recorded.
Why? It would be for personal use only.
Yes, but I'd know
there's a recording of my voice
somewhere in the world, and
The thing is,
I don't want to make any mistakes
and twist your words.
I promise you, I'll destroy it later.
Very well. But, please,
destroy it after transcribing it.
Okay.
Well go ahead.
I've never done this before,
I don't know what you want me to say.
Actually, I'm interested
in your beginnings in Paris.
FIRST COLLECTION SHOWCASE
PARIS, AUGUST 1937
PRUDENCE: You arrived after leaving behind
the Civil War in Spain, right?
The Civil War.
Let's see if I remember
Wladzio and I arrived in Paris
in January 1937,
and by the start of August,
we were already showcasing
our first haute couture collection.
Everything was too fast.
- (IN FRENCH) Excuse me. Thank you.
- Careful!
- The earrings?
- With that necklace.
Could you come, please?
- Colette.
- I'm coming!
Quickly, Colette.
- Go.
- WOMAN: Colette, now.
(ATOMIZER SPRITZING)
CRISTÓBAL (IN SPANISH):
It all happened so quickly.
We should have worked more
with the models.
(IN FRENCH) Come on, quickly.
CRISTÓBAL:
Suzanne, separate the dresses
16, 18, 36, 37,
53, 109.
We have to finish them up.
CRISTÓBAL (IN SPANISH):
The show starts in an hour.
Relax.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
FLORETTE (IN FRENCH): Mrs. Ballard,
how nice to see you.
It is an honor that Vogue
is interested in our first showcase.
My pleasure.
FLORETTE: Welcome.
It's an evening dress, it ends the show.
Yes, but I need your approval.
Walk, please.
(SIGHS)
Come close.
Cristóbal, don't
CRISTÓBAL: It's crooked.
Look at this fold, here.
We have to sew it again.
(GRUNTS)
(IN SPANISH) We don't have time.
- We don't.
- TAILOR (IN FRENCH) Come.
(IN SPANISH) This happens when you
leave things for the last minute.
Sew it again.
WLADZIO: But Cristóbal,
the sleeve was all right.
FLORETTE (IN FRENCH): Ladies, gentlemen,
the showcase is about to begin.
(COUGHS)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(IN FRENCH) Number one.
(IN FRENCH) Number two.
(IN FRENCH) Number three.
(IN FRENCH) Number four.
(IN FRENCH) Number 107.
CRISTÓBAL (IN FRENCH): So?
I couldn't say.
They're very serious,
and a gentleman left.
You see this? It's all wrong.
The sleeves are identical.
- No, they aren't.
- (IN FRENCH) Number 108.
(IN FRENCH)
There's a fold here, understand?
I'll handle it, go.
Cristóbal.
There's no time.
The show is ending. It's now or never.
(BREATHES DEEPLY)
Ready? Breathe
(APPLAUSE)
WLADZIO (IN SPANISH):
Well, looks like they liked it.
Hmm. Yeah.
Come on, go talk to people.
I'm not coming out.
WLADZIO (IN FRENCH):
Thank you for coming, Mrs. Ballard.
Mr. D'Attainville,
everything looks in place.
I heard you handled the decorations.
- Yes, do you like it?
- Very much.
And what do you think of the collection?
Well
take it as constructive criticism.
I don't want to sound arrogant,
but I think it lacks some personality.
- Personality?
- Yes.
Yes, maybe I expected too much.
This is Paris, it's hard to stand out,
- but you need
- BIZKARRONDO AND VIRGILIA: Hi.
May I introduce you
to Nicolás Bizkarrondo.
- Nice to meet you.
- And his wife, Virgilia Mendizábal.
- Main shareholders of the Maison.
- Congratulations.
A great collection.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
WLADZIO (IN SPANISH):
Do you think we've been reckless
by involving ourselves
with Virgilia and Nicolás?
CRISTÓBAL: Why?
I don't know
I'm not sure they're the right associates.
Don't misunderstand, I like them
but things work differently here.
Everything about fashion
is more sophisticated.
But I'd rather surround myself
with people I agree with
than with "sophisticated" people.
What can I say?
I'm just saying, if we had waited
a bit in Paris,
surely we would have found
someone with experience and contacts.
Someone who could have added
to the company,
beyond their money.
What if that someone never appears?
I have no doubt, they would appear.
There isn't that much talent
in high fashion.
And you have it, obviously.
(GLASS CLATTERS SOFTLY)
(DEEP SIGH)
I wish I were like you.
What do you mean?
Like this.
So confident.
I can't permit a lack of confidence.
(LAUGHS)
(TEASINGLY) "Hello, Nicolás. How are you?"
(LAUGHTER)
- I don't talk like that.
- You do!
- No!
- When you're with Bizkarrondo,
you lower your voice
as if you were manlier.
- That's not true!
- (LAUGHTER)
You do, and not just with Bizkarrondo,
you do it with others too.
I didn't know.
Well, you do.
You can't see your own mannerisms either.
What mannerisms?
Nothing important.
(MOANING)
RAMÓN: Cristóbal
Cristóbal?
Sorry.
I I lost track of what I was saying.
You were telling me
about your business partner.
Yes Nicolás Bizkarrondo.
Nicolás was a republican engineer
who had openly spoken against Franco.
He and his wife, Virgilia Mendizábal,
had to go into exile in Paris,
and decided to invest in the Maison.
They both were a great support.
BIZKARRONDO: Let's toast to the show.
It went very well.
(SINGING IN BASQUE)
Clink, clink, clink ♪
The beautiful sound ♪
Of money ♪
(IN SPANISH) Nicolás,
don't force the enthusiasm.
BIZKARRONDO: People clapped happily.
And we've been promised good reviews,
there's no reason to be sad.
Careful, Nicolás.
BIZKARRONDO:
That's what Ballard told you, right?
Yes, yes. But what they tell you
to your face is one thing,
and what they later write is another.
Until I see it published
BIZKARRONDO: You know this world
better than I do.
Can you believe it?
Almost 50 years old,
and now I have to learn like a kid.
That's how exile works.
We're beginners, but we're not.
In a country where people eat at 12:30.
(LAUGHTER)
Don't get all nostalgic again.
I left Paris to be in San Sebastián
for 12 years,
and I didn't complain once.
You spoke about Paris all day long.
Besides, it's not the same,
there was no war in France.
BIZKARRONDO: Wladzio is right.
We're here now,
so we have to move forward.
Besides, I'm eager to learn.
I know all about business,
but I admit that all this is new for me.
- I'm here for Virgilia.
- Hey.
You're here because you want to,
you'll be responsible if it goes wrong.
(LAUGHTER)
But I'll be here by your side.
And if you need my help, ask for it.
Don't hesitate.
(IN BASQUE) Thank you, Nicolás.
(IN SPANISH)
I'd never heard of them before.
Yes, well, because things
didn't end too well
between us.
They didn't?
I see you have papers from those days.
Oh, yes.
They're reviews for the first collection.
- Do you mind if I read them?
- No.
"Balenciaga succeeds, thanks to"
FLORETTE (IN FRENCH):
"the simplicity of his lines
and the absence of superficial elements."
Women's Wear Daily, on the cover.
(IN SPANISH) "Balenciago,"
they changed your name.
Yes, I remember.
PRUDENCE: I'll keep reading.
(IN FRENCH) They changed your name.
Did they really spell it
like "Balenciago"?
"Elegant dresses
with sophisticated simplicity.
The birds are a fun feature
on the evening hats.
A model"
(IN SPANISH) "a model was wearing
some sort of dove
on her head."
(IN FRENCH) It's great, isn't it?
Your first review, and it's on the cover.
"Sophisticated simplicity"
(IN SPANISH) Is that good?
That's what you've always defended.
Please, Wladzio!
If you really like a collection,
you say it, plain and simple
(IN FRENCH) "Prodigious,"
"marvelous," "great," "extraordinary."
(IN SPANISH) Or something like that.
I think the reviews
have been mostly positive.
On a scale of one to ten, it's a six.
And no one will pay the amount we ask
to wear a six. That's
Don't be impatient, Cristóbal.
It's not a bad start.
Not for you, of course.
The hats stand out, and you designed them.
Huh?
FLORETTE (IN FRENCH): Mrs. de Belleville,
I'm Mrs. Chelot.
CRISTÓBAL: No, no, diagonally.
TAILOR: Yes.
No, not like this.
Like this, look.
Don't stab the pins so deep.
Just the tip is enough,
and it'll be easier to remove them.
And you put them in diagonally
so as to not disturb
the shape of the fabric.
Yes.
As if I were a beginner.
(IN SPANISH) What do you think?
It could be better.
Well, of course it could,
it's just a test.
It'll be okay.
Yes, I know it will be fine,
and the collection will be impeccable.
But it reminds me of Vionnet.
If it looks like Vionnet,
it's a compliment.
Yes, but if people want a Vionnet,
they'll get a Vionnet.
What do you?
What do you think could be changed?
I've heard people say
that I paraded into Paris,
that I succeeded immediately.
And looking back, I can't complain.
But then, those weeks
after the showcase
for the first collection
They were full of uncertainty.
(IN FRENCH) Mrs. Geneive?
It's Mrs. Chelot,
from the Marie-Henriette House.
You remember me, right?
As soon as I saw the collection,
I thought of you.
Spanish.
It fits your style perfectly.
Balenciaga Let me read you the reviews.
Balenciaga, with an "A."
That's right.
Only two commissions?
And the one from Wladzio's mother.
CRISTÓBAL (IN SPANISH):
A showcase or a party?
Looks like it'll be a party
with a showcase
for some pieces from her new collection
for her friends.
So it's a party to pat her own back.
If I go, it'll be for her.
CHANEL'S PARTY
But these engagements bore me to death.
(DOORBELL RINGS)
- WLADZIO (IN FRENCH): My mother.
- Isabelle, so nice to see you.
- How are you?
- I'm well.
- Nervous?
- No.
Talk to people today.
Be kind and interesting,
gain people's love.
It'll be packed with potential clients.
- You look splendid, Mom.
- I agree.
It's so flattering on me,
and it'll be great publicity.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
I'm going to show this Balenciaga around.
See you, darlings.
Of course.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(COUGHS)
I forgot my glasses, I can't see a thing.
(SIGHS)
Still, it's so obvious
that they're Chanel.
I'd recognize them even if I was blind.
- MAN: Balenciaga, is it Spanish?
- Yes.
MAN: How are you dealing
with the Civil War? It must be horrible.
Yes, terrible. Very tough.
You fled from the war to?
I visited the Spanish pavilion
in the universal exhibition,
and Picasso's painting is amazing.
- It's called "Guernica," isn't it?
- Yes.
Like the bombed village.
- They bombed a village?
- Yes.
I didn't know Picasso's inspiration
MAN: Spain's current situation
It's so sad. Such a fascinating country.
WOMAN: Yes, it is an exciting country,
I was there and
(IN SPANISH) "The war, the great Spain."
- I'm tired of it, too.
- They treat it so lightly.
They talk about the war, "Guernica"
and Picasso as if they were exotic.
It's so condescending.
By the way, we should go see it
at the universal exhibition.
What are you doing here,
gathered like mushrooms in a forest?
Cristóbal, come with me.
Coco is talking to Carmel Snow. Let's go.
- Who?
- Carmel Snow.
Editor in chief of Harper's Bazaar.
Very influential.
Right
(IN BASQUE) But
- CHANEL (IN FRENCH): It's beautiful.
- Thank you.
Oh Here's the moon.
- And the sun.
- WLADZIO: How are you, Coco?
Marvelous, Coco, just marvelous,
everything you've showed.
WLADZIO: Thank you for inviting us.
It was an honor to be here.
It was a pleasure, but don't forget
This is the jungle, darlings.
Don't expect my help, we're rivals now.
Do you know high fashion's Cleopatra?
Carmel, come here for a second.
If you want to be someone
in the fashion world,
you want to get along with her.
Go on, start complimenting her.
Carmel, this is Cristóbal Balenciaga.
- Nice to meet you.
- It's a pleasure.
You must have forgotten, but we met
in a showcase for Vionnet and Lanvin.
Cristóbal is a great dressmaker,
he makes copies
of known designers and improves them.
That was before.
Nowadays, I'm focused
on completely original collections.
Yes, the syndicate
have given us the green light,
and we've showcased our first collection.
CHANEL: Yes, I know.
I was joking.
- (LAUGHS)
- Tell me, I'm dying to know
what your style is like.
My style?
Yes, how would you define your style?
Yes, of course.
It's a sober and elegant style,
with very few accessories.
Based mostly on the fabric.
This dress is from his latest collection.
Right
And the dress
that elegant woman is wearing, too.
It'd be better
if you could see the full collection.
There's a showcase every day
at Maison Balenciaga.
It would be an honor
(CHANEL LAUGHS)
She's hammered.
It's her natural state.
Well, I need to attend to my guests.
Uh
If you don't mind
some advice
prepare some words
about your style, it'll be useful.
Good luck, darling.
(SIGHS)
Good.
(ENGINE HUMS)
(IN SPANISH)
I don't understand her attitude.
She treated you like a nobody.
- (SIGHS)
- She urged you to come to Paris.
We shouldn't have come.
We're in another league.
They're a different category.
Making good copies is one thing,
having talent and style to make
unique things, that's another.
You know that, Wladzio.
That's why you're upset.
(SIGHS)
I feel bad for Nicolás and Virgilia.
WLADZIO: Cristóbal,
don't get ahead of yourself.
They wanted to invest
in Maison Balenciaga in Paris.
You didn't ask them or force them at all.
You and I decided to come here.
They came for political reasons.
(IN FRENCH) Number 77.
(TELEPHONE RINGS)
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
- (IN FRENCH) Florette.
- Yes?
Is it usually this empty?
Uh The shopping center?
They liked what they saw at the showcase,
but they can't make up their minds.
I don't know
Maybe we should reconsider the prices?
No, that's not the problem.
The elite don't mind paying
for good quality.
They even prefer expensive prices
for exclusivity.
Understood.
You know more than I do.
I heard you saw Carmel Snow.
- Did you not invite her to come?
- We did.
A review from someone so influential
would give us visibility.
Huh Yes.
(IN BASQUE) We talked for a while.
There were lots of people, right?
Did they feed you?
Yes, Mom, why do you want to know that?
Jesus, son, I'm just curious.
Since we can't go to Chanel's parties
I just want to experience that excitement.
Don't get too excited,
it was all nonsense.
Keep your feet on the ground. Stay humble.
CRISTÓBAL: Yes, Mom.
CRISTÓBAL'S MOTHER: How are the sales?
CRISTÓBAL: Well, very well.
Don't worry.
CRISTÓBAL'S MOTHER: I'm glad to hear it.
You know how things are here
Your brother is desperate
after the shut down in Madrid.
CRISTÓBAL: Yes, we speak often.
CRISTÓBAL'S MOTHER: So you'll know
that they're expecting another child.
CRISTÓBAL: Another one? I didn't know.
CRISTÓBAL'S MOTHER:
Yes. Their tenth child.
If Paris doesn't go well,
we're done for.
VIRGILIA: Still, it's so obvious
that they're Chanel.
I'd recognize them even if I was blind.
(IN FRENCH) It's not working.
What would you change?
Everything.
- I don't love it.
- There are no mistakes.
But we'll fix it, improve it.
I know it can be improved.
That's not the problem.
It's an old-fashioned line,
it adds nothing to it.
You'd think they're hicks
on their way
to their grandchildren's christening.
- I put a lot of time into it.
- I don't care, Suzanne.
- SUZANNE: We spent hours on it.
- I don't care!
Me too!
I spent hours designing it!
But it doesn't work!
It's better to stop now!
SUZANNE: Let's keep working.
- Relax.
- Yes.
(CRISTÓBAL BREATHING HEAVILY)
(IN SPANISH) What's wrong, Cristóbal?
It's horrifying.
It has no style, no nothing
You spend too much time here.
You need to rest.
(SIGHS)
UNIVERSAL EXHIBITION
PARIS, OCTOBER 1937
Well
I thought it would be
a good idea to come here and relax.
CRISTÓBAL: You'd think
they're handing out gifts.
Shall we go?
Nicolás, I want to apologize for earlier.
I'm ashamed of how I behaved.
All that screaming
- Just terrible!
- Quit that.
I've already forgotten.
I don't want you to lose any money.
(SIGHS) But
I don't know if we'll make it.
What do you think?
You think I don't cover my back?
Forget it.
Focus on making the best dresses.
The rest is all decoration.
Do you think
that if there was no war in Spain
there would be so many people
in the Spanish pavilion?
CRISTÓBAL: Probably not.
NICOLÁS: So Spain
really is trendy right now.
SPAIN
SHAPES AND COSTUMES
(DOOR OPENING)
(IN FRENCH) Good morning.
So, why did you want to see me?
I'm very busy.
I'm very grateful, Ms. Chanel.
So talk.
I won't beat around the bush.
I wanted to ask you a question.
Do you think Balenciaga
is worthy of Parisian haute couture?
I hear people say
he's very good, a genius, but
I don't see it.
What a question.
It must have cost you a lot
to launch Maison Balenciaga.
Shouldn't you have asked that before?
Yes, but we can't get sales going,
and suppliers want us
to pay for the fabrics.
I'm asking the expert here.
He's not just worthy, he's better.
The first time I saw his dresses
in San Sebastián,
I knew he was special.
A Balenciaga's worth
is in its secrets, its dressmaking.
Would you mind turning around?
What are you doing?
You're not a great example.
- What do you mean?
- You have no hump.
- Well, thank you.
- I don't know if you've noticed,
but, often, Cristóbal's jackets
are pinched slightly here
and here.
It's not decorative.
The long pinches
allow you to separate
the jacket from the back.
This technique allows women
with humps to look straight,
and this is just an example.
What Cristóbal does for them
is like plastic surgery,
with all those details.
And he also invents.
He comes up with new ways
to make buttonholes
of positioning the collar,
adding the sleeves,
distributing the weight.
Did you know he's been sewing
since he was a child?
Balenciaga is the last true dressmaker.
The rest of us are just designers.
He knows the whole process,
from start to finish,
and it's obvious.
I have no doubt
that he'll be a great competitor,
and you will make a fortune,
Mr. Bizkarrondo.
I'm very glad to hear that.
Thank you, Ms. Chanel.
It's folkloric, exotic
and sophisticated at the same time.
I think it will work.
What do you think, Suzanne?
I like it.
Me too.
I like it.
WLADZIO: Step by step.
Knowing all this, I have another question.
Could you get Carmel Snow to come and see
the next Balenciaga showcase?
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS)
CRISTÓBAL (IN SPANISH): I suppose
it wasn't just Carmel Snow's visit.
But slowly we started to get
our big clients.
They're a fundamental part
for creating great designers.
The Duchess of Windsor,
Gloria Guinness,
the Marchioness of Llanzol,
Babe Paley, Marlene Dietrich,
Grace Kelly
(DRAMATIC MUSIC CONTINUES)
PRUDENCE:
You were crucial in defining the style
of those women.
Or the other way around.
Those women and their styles were crucial
in defining my own style.
My designs came to be on their bodies.
It's part of the complexity of style.
Huh
(CLOSING THEME MUSIC PLAYS)