The stylist of the Queen Letizia, Eva Fernández, received the important task of choosing the clothes for the portraits that Annie Leibovitz took of the Royals on February 7th. The result can be seen from today at the Banco de España and is part of the exhibition The Tyranny of Chronos. For the snapshots, Doña Letizia wears two pieces by Cristóbal Balenciaga from the private collection of the Antoni de Montpalau Foundation. La Otra Crónica spoke with its president, Josep Casamartina, about the secrets of the chosen clothing.
Casamartina heads a foundation that houses 19,000 pieces reflecting the history of Spain. As he recalls, months ago Casa Real contacted him, looking for "Balenciaga party pieces," and they sent photos of what they had. "They told us it was for a photo shoot of the Queen, but they didn't give more details or say who the photographer was," he says, ensuring that after seeing the material, Zarzuela requested three pieces: the black dress, the fuchsia cape, and an ivory dress that matched the cape.
The dress is an old piece commissioned in 1948 by María Junyent, daughter of the painter, set designer, and collector Oleguer Junyent. As Casamartina recalls, Junyent was a neighbor and personal friend of Balenciaga in Barcelona, which is why she commissioned that outfit, later passed down to the Foundation by her granddaughter.
The ivory dress and fuchsia cape have more history. They were commissioned in 1962 by María del Carmen Ferrer-Cajigal de Robert, Countess of Torroella de Montgrí and Marchioness of Robert, to Balenciaga in 1962. The reason was that the countess was invited to the wedding of King Juan Carlos I and Queen Doña Sofía in Athens, Greece. The lady, a member of the Catalan aristocracy, asked the Basque designer, who was at the end of his career, to design that dress with a matching cape.
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A design that paraded in Athens on the day of the Royal wedding. A unique creation that, like the black dress, rests in the Antoni de Montpalau Foundation's warehouse and will go down in history for having been chosen by Queen Letizia for Leibovitz's photos. "It is an honor and recognition of our work," explains the foundation's president to LOC.
According to him, Zarzuela had the pieces in their possession for a week, when they returned them "in perfect condition." He assures that they did not make "any adjustments" to the outfit, although it is possible that, with clips, it could have been tailored more to Doña Letizia's body. Although they do not sell their pieces, intended for exhibitions, Josep states that the loan to Zarzuela "is so exceptional that I cannot refuse to let Doña Letizia wear it, it is an honor."