Balenciaga SA is a luxury fashion house founded in 1919 by Spanish couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga in San Sebastian, Spain. Balenciaga produces ready-to-wear shoes, handbags and accessories and licenses its name and brand to Coty for fragrances. It is currently owned by France's Kering Corporation.. Balenciaga began with the opening of Cristobal Balenciaga's first boutique in San Sebastian, Spain, which also included branches in Madrid and Barcelona.