The Couture Pattern Museum Hosts an Elegant Evening with Special Guest Maria Kublin

“There is no fashion scene in Santa Barbara,” said Cara Austine-Rademaker, founder of Santa Barbara’s Couture Pattern Museum. The museum is the only one of its kind — “the world’s largest couture pattern archive.”

With hopes of “putting Santa Barbara on the map,” and to further immerse the local community in the world of couture, Austine-Rademaker recently hosted Maria Kublin, daughter of acclaimed late fashion photographer Tom Kublin, to debut her new book: Balenciaga – Kublin: A Fashion Record, in conjunction with the museum.

Maria Kublin eagerly made her first North American appearance at Santa Barbara’s University Club on November 12, conquering her fear of flying to make the trip from Amsterdam to Santa Barbara.

The event – “Balenciaga Through the Lens of Tom Kublin” – honored the legacy of Maria’s father, who primarily photographed for designer Cristóbal Balenciaga. Also in attendance were Maria’s daughter Eva Luna, Spanish Consul General Gerardo Fueyo, and a slew of art enthusiasts, some University Club members, and others who belong to the Couture Pattern Museum.

The event included a video presentation assembled by Austine-Rademaker, detailing the origins of the museum and background information about Tom and Maria Kublin. This was followed by a speech from Maria, sharing her life story and insight into her journey in compiling this archive of her father’s work. There was also an exclusive piece from the Balenciaga collection on display — an elegant black dress — in order to further engage attendees with the intricacy of vintage couture.

Through this dialogue, Maria shared her difficulties in understanding her father, who passed away before she was born. So everything that she knew about her father came directly from her mother, model Katinka Bleeker, who met Tom when she was modeling for Balenciaga. Maria described how the positive and faultless rhetoric from her mother had warped her perception of her late father by “putting him on a pedestal.”

Throughout her life, Maria described feeling a disconnect from her father, having never met him. It was not until 2020 that she finally had a chance to conduct an Internet search into her father’s life and endeavors. It was this search that propelled her discovery of a thesis focusing on Tom by Ana Balda. 

Maria reached out to Balda, and they worked in collaboration thereafter to compile the book and propose a museum exhibit centered around the unique and often overlooked Kublin-Balenciaga partnership to the Balenciaga Museum in Getaria, Gipuzkoa, Spain in 2022. They successfully secured the exhibition, “Tom Kublin for Balenciaga. An Unusual Collaboration,” and it is still on display today.

Maria described how the Balenciaga exhibit was the first instance that she could remember in which her father’s legacy was properly honored in her lifetime. “What is a design without a photograph?” she asked.

“My father and Balenciaga created a legacy together,” said Maria. With the release of her new book, she wants to honor this conjoined remembrance.

Respected modern couturier Ralph Rucci called Maria’s book “our new bible.” He continued, “We are drowning in such mediocrity at this time,” such that collections of couture history like this book are refreshingly restoring excellence to the craft. He referred to his favorite image in the book, a photograph of a woman stepping forward in low-cut boots. Beyond the brilliant designs of Balenciaga, Tom captured the boot “symbolizing the modern step … opening the door to the future,” as Rucci described it.

On behalf of the Couture Pattern Museum, Austine-Rademaker bestowed Maria with the Fashion Heritage Award as a tribute to those who “uplift, uphold, observe, and protect art.” Maria expressed her gratitude for this recognition, and when prompted to make a speech, she said, “I feel like I’m accepting a Grammy.”

This was the first event of its kind for the Museum, but definitely will not be the last. Austine-Rademaker alluded to another event of similar gravity in the upcoming months. She shared, “I want to tell stories that have been buried in history.”

The Couture Pattern Museum is located at 1525 State St Penthouse Floor #301, and is open 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. every day of the week. See couturepatternmuseum.com for more information.