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From the studios of Cristóbal Balenciaga, Hubert de Givenchy or Madame Grès to the recent catwalks of Demna, this Parisian figure has passed away, leaving behind the memory of a haute couture career.
On July 6, 2022, the first model in Balenciaga’s Fall/Winter haute couture show was not quite the age of those who usually grace the runway. With a bob cut just below her jawline and a delicate shoulder peeking out from under a black sheath dress, 78-year-old Danielle Slavik stepped forward with the confidence of experience: she modeled for Monsieur Balenciaga from 1964 until the closure of his fashion house, before joining Hubert de Givenchy and Gabrielle Chanel. Her career culminated in two late-blooming shows, orchestrated by Demna, who wished to pay tribute to the couturier. Two years after this final appearance, Danielle Slavik passed away at the age of 81 on Sunday, July 13, it was learned this week.
A Balenciaga-branded debut
Of Czech origin, born in Paris in 1944, the young woman began her career at the age of twenty in Cristóbal Balenciaga’s studio, quite by chance . “She thought she wouldn’t be hired because she was blonde, and she had applied with a brunette friend, much more typically Spanish,” recounts Alexandre Samson, curator and head of the Haute Couture (post-1947) and contemporary creations collections at the museum. Against all odds, she was the couturier’s choice, and a close bond developed between them. “The most spectacular Balenciaga design held by the Palais Galliera was worn by her, and her name is inscribed on it,” emphasizes Alexandre Samson. She continued working at the studio until the end of his fashion house in 1968 and remained close to him until his death. In 2022, Danielle Slavik told Le Monde that he was “the man she admired most on this earth . ”
Danielle Slavik for Balenciaga Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2023.
This is why, not without some apprehension, she agreed to return to the catwalk for a show by Demna for the Fall/Winter 2022 haute couture collection. The experience proved successful, and she accepted the challenge again for the Spring/Summer 2023 show, this time opening the show. He then dressed her in a replica of a dress dear to her heart, from the Fall/Winter 1966 haute couture collection, worn by Grace Kelly at her 40th birthday party in Monaco. As a thank you, he gifted it to her.
A friend’s journey through sewing
When Balenciaga closed in 1968, Danielle Slavik joined Givenchy’s studio and then worked for Chanel. “There, she was asked to cut her hair very short, and she flatly refused,” recounts the curator. After a stint at Madame Grès, she returned to Hubert de Givenchy, with whom she also forged a close friendship. In 2019, she contacted the Palais Galliera to donate haute couture dresses given to her by the couturier, which brought her back into the spotlight years after the end of her modeling career.