V&A announces Balenciaga exhibit for 2017

A major nine-month exhibition of Cristóbal Balenciaga's work within the world of haute couture fashion is to go on display from May 2017 at the Victoria & Albert in London.

In profiling Balenciaga, the exhibition will be the first of its kind in the UK, and is timed to occur during the 100th anniversary of the designer's first fashion house, in San Sebastian, Spain, as well as the 80th anniversary of his 1937 Paris salon.

"Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion" will showcase around 100 garments and 20 hats, as well as sketches, photographs, fabric samples, x-rays, toiles and film.

Many of the V&A's Balenciaga pieces have not been shown to the public before, the museum said in its announcement.

Paris hosted an exhibit of the designer's work in 2006, while in Getaria, Spain, a musuem dedicated to Cristobal Balenciaga has been open since 2011.