There were 120 garments to be awed by at the exhibit. Balenciaga only designed dresses for a few decades ( late 1930s to late 1960s ) but what I enjoyed about the exhibit was how Balenciaga kept revisiting style lines and ideas that captured his imagination. Most prominent was the scooped front and the boat neck neckline. Also, bunching up the skirt bottom which was supposedly copying fisherman wives tucking the skirts into the waistband. Balenciaga exaggerated silhouettes and hid surprises. It is hard to accurately describe the obvious recurring themes in the garments but, they were very noticeable. It seemed Balenciaga kept working on a concept until he got it perfect-and he did get it perfect. Some of the gowns were absolutely breathtaking in their beauty and simplicity. The last striking feature was the modernity of the pieces. Over and over my 19 year old daughter and I were exclaiming " I'd wear that ! "