BALMAIN, PIERRE (-ALEXANDRE-CLAUDIUS)

born May 18, 1914, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, Fr. died June 29, 1982, Paris French couturier who founded a fashion house that made his name a byword for elegance during the post-World War II years. His clients included the Duchess of Windsor, the Queen of Belgium, and many of the leading film stars of the 1950s. But one of the first and most important was the American expatriate writer Gertrude Stein, who encouraged him and publicized the House of Balmain when it opened in 1945. Balmain had abandoned his architectural studies because of lack of money and in 1934 joined Edward Molyneux as a designer. In 1939 he went to Lucien Lelong, where he worked with Christian Dior, who was to become his main rival during their heyday in the postwar years. The House of Balmain was an immediate success, its clothes characterized by superb quality, particularly in evening wear, which combined femininity with an imposing elegance. He rapidly expanded, opening branches in New York City and Caracas and diversifying into perfume and accessories. He designed for films and for film stars, among them Marlene Dietrich, Katharine Hepburn, Sophia Loren, Ingrid Bergman, and Brigitte Bardot. As haute couture gave way to ready-to-wear, he opened boutiques and developed his ancillary interests in handbags, scarves, luggage, and even furniture. He published his memoirs, My Years and Seasons, in 1964 and in 1978 was made an officer of the Legion of Honour.