Today the King and Queen of Spain revealed stunning new portraits taken on February 7, 2024, in the Gasparini Rooms at the Royal Palace in Madrid, to mark the the couple's 20th anniversary.
The images were taken by the iconic portrait and fashion photographer Annie Leibovitz.
© MADS CLAUS RASMUSSENQueen Letizia, one of the most stylish royals on the planet, oozed picture-perfect elegance in a strapless black gown with a ruched design, paired with a contrasting red-ish pink satin cape: both archival pieces designed by luxury Spanish fashion house Balenciaga's founder, Cristóbal Balenciaga
The vintage pieces, taken from the Antoni de Montpalau Foundation are steeped in history, and it was only fitting that the Spanish queen wore a dress by the royally-approved label.
Although the brand, 52 years after the eponymous founder's death, is now most often associated with avant-garde street style, Cristóbal entered into the industrial register under the title of "modistas" (dressmaker), and his designs were a go-to for Spanish high society.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art explains: "His designs were favored [sic] by the Spanish royal family and fashionable members of the aristocracy." The relationship was symbiotic, as his designs were also inspired by historic high society clothing: "His “Infanta” gown was inspired by the costumes of the young Spanish princesses from portraits by Diego Velázquez," the museum also says.
The pieces Letizia wore in the newly released portraits date back over 70 years. Josep Casamartina, the president of the Antoni de Montpalau Foundation told Spanish newspaper El Mundo that the dress was commissioned in 1948 by María Junyent, the daughter of the artist Oleguer Junyent. As Casamartina recalls, "Junyent was a neighbor [sic] and personal friend of Balenciaga in Barcelona, which is why she commissioned that outfit, later passed down to the Foundation by her granddaughter," they explained. Letizia's cape on the other hand was created in 1962 for María del Carmen Ferrer-Cajigal de Robert, a lady of the Catalan aristocracy.
Nodding to the Spanish label's history with high society, it was the perfect pairing to mark such an occasion.
