‘Return of elegance and glamour’: polished, empowering fashion pieces inspired by Truman Capote’s ‘swans’ define 2022/23 autumn/winter couture show season
- A clique of powerful post-World-War-II women ‘collected’ by author Capote lived for and held sway over fashion and style at couture houses such as Balenciaga
- These ‘swans’ – ‘calm above water, paddling furiously beneath’ – inspire its creative director and rivals at other houses, and a Ryan Murphy TV series
The Balenciaga autumn/winter 2022/23 haute couture show held in Cristóbal Balenciaga’s original salon in Paris in July gave a nod to a particularly glamorous era.
Creative director Demna Gvasalia took the shapes and silhouettes Balenciaga was best known for in his mid-20th century heyday and made them relevant for today’s couture client.
This beautiful and sometimes discombobulating collection would certainly have pleased author Truman Capote’s “swans”: the post-World War II society women who frequented Balenciaga’s shows and sometimes bought out the entire collection.
A glamorous and an immaculately honed personal style – in everything from outfits to napkins – was this clique’s raison d’être.
The ultimate ladies who lunched, the swans included:
Lee Radziwill, eternal style icon and sister to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis;