Balenciaga f/w 1999 Creative Director Nicolas Ghesquière Newest Cool

About and out

Is Balenciaga a Social Experiment?

Balenciaga is a recognisable name, and a brand that recently has been the centre of many controversies. Even before that however, Balenciaga has been, and continues to be, publicly criticised, ever since the introduction of Demna Gvasalia as creative director. Their abstract designs, along with a hiked-up price tag, create a lot of buzz within the fashion realm. Before I begin to discuss Demna-era Balenciaga however, I believe it is important to know a brief history of the brand, and a brief history of Demna himself.

Balenciaga is a luxury fashion house founded by Spanish designer Cristóbal Balenciaga in 1919. The brand quickly gained recognition for its innovative designs and unique approach to silhouette and structure. Throughout the 1950s and 60s, Balenciaga was known as a leader in the world of haute couture and was favoured by high society women and royalty. In 1968, Balenciaga closed its doors due to the death of its founder and changing fashion trends, but the brand was later resurrected in 1986, but struggled to regain its former glory. However, since the brand appointed Demna Gvasalia as creative director in 2015, it has once again solidified itself as a prominent luxury fashion house.

Demna Gvasalia is a Georgian fashion designer and creative director, born in 1981. He grew up in the Republic of Georgia and later moved to Germany to study at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium. The Royal Academy of Fine Arts is a prestigious school that has produced many notable names such as Walter Van Beirendonck, Ann Demeulemeester and Dries van Noten (members of the group the Antwerp Six).  After completing his studies, he worked as a designer at various fashion houses, including Maison Martin Margiela, Louis Vuitton, and his own brand, Vetements. In 2014, Demna co-founded the avant-garde fashion label Vetements, which quickly gained recognition for its unconventional designs and streetwear inspired aesthetic. Under Demna's creative direction, Vetements became known for its oversized silhouettes, bold graphics, and deconstructed pieces that challenged traditional fashion norms.

The belief that Balenicaga’s recent designs are ‘trolls’ is a highly popular one, generally throughout the general public, who are not very informed on Demna and his designs. Balenciaga has released a number of products that received great amounts of criticism under Demna, namely the $1,790 ‘trash’ bag, or the Balenciaga Crocs, many models which retailed above $1,000. Putting myself in a fashion outsider's shoes, I can see how these items could be seen as jokes, as if Balenciaga is playing a prank on the consumers, especially with the outrageous price tags on many of their items. However if one does their research into Demna, they will find that he has stayed true to his original philosophy of tearing down any preconceived notions surrounding fashion, and rebuilding the public’s perceptions. 

The Balenciaga NYC Show Spring 23 Collection, is known for its bold and thought-provoking designs that often carry symbolic meaning. In this particular collection, Demna sought to explore themes of consumerism, environmental degradation, the impact of technology on society, and the fetishism of finance. The collection features exaggerated silhouettes, oversized and distorted shapes, and a colour palette inspired by environmental waste and pollution. These elements symbolise the negative impact of consumerism and modern society on the environment. The use of bright, eye-catching colours serves to draw attention to these issues, while the distorted shapes represent the damage that has already been done. In addition, the collection incorporates elements of technology and digital culture, such as computer-generated prints, circuit board patterns, and internet-inspired graphics. These elements symbolise the all-encompassing presence of technology in our lives and its impact on the way we see and experience the world. The show takes place in the New York stock exchange, and it provokes thoughts about the fetishism of finance, which is also shown through the exorbitant price of the garments themselves.

However, to counter my argument, Balenciaga is owned by the Kering Group, a group that owns Gucci, and many other luxury fashion brands. This means that Balenciaga is a primarily profit-driven company, and could mean that Demna’s outrageous, and polarising designs are simply publicity stunts, used only to bring profit to the Kering Group. While this completely counters my argument, I believe that this was an important point to bring up, as I want to open myself up to the idea that the general public’s opinion on Balenciaga is in fact correct.

Balenciaga’s recent controversies and collaborations also point to this fact, such as their recent collaboration with Kanye West, an undeniable polarising public figure. This, along with their collaborations with the video game ‘Fortnite’, or with ‘The Simpsons’, drum up large amounts of chat within the fashion space, and while deeply criticised, generally help in creating buzz around a brand, and as they say, any publicity is good publicity. I think that their creative ways of creating buzz, or shocking the consumer, is also what they attempted to do in their recent campaign that received a very large amount of backlash. The campaign advertisements contained old court cases surrounding child sexual abuse, and one ad was even of a young girl holding a toy bear that had many BDSM style accessories on it. I believe that while this was absolutely inappropriate from Balenciaga, their intentions remained the same as with their older campaigns, which was to shock the viewer.

In conclusion, Balenciaga, a luxury fashion house with a rich history, has been the centre of many controversies and public criticism since the appointment of Demna Gvasalia as creative director in 2015. Demna's unconventional designs have been met with mixed reactions, with some viewing them as artistic and innovative, while others see them as outrageous and simply publicity stunts. Despite the polarising opinions, Balenciaga has solidified itself as a prominent fashion house with thought-provoking designs that challenge traditional fashion norms. Balenciaga's designs and controversies will continue to spark discussion and debate within the fashion industry and the public eye, and continue to feel like a joke to those less informed.

Balenciaga  // Fall 2022 #Couture - Paris Haute Couture

Guram Gvasalia on Vetements, Madonna and His Future in Fashion

“I give you the best example that everyone can relate to,” he went on: “The Kardashians. You have Kim, who is a great person — we think she’s phenomenal — and you have Kylie. Kylie’s the young generation. She’s been very successful without having sex tapes, without having to go through all the things that her sister had to go through. Another example is Venus and Serena Williams. They’re both…

View On WordPress

Balenciaga: Chevalier Armor Knight Boots AW21

Chrome hearts

Charlie Osborne captured by Mark Borthwick for Balenciaga Couture

KEITH

www.beau-gar.tumblr.com

Vetements FW19 Error 404 Cap

Balenciaga f/w 2022 rtw ''The Lost Tape'' #20 Creative Director Demna Gvasalia Model Laiza de Moura Makeup Artist Inge Grognard Hair Stylist Gary Gill  Newest Cool

Soon

Balenciaga Swing cropped denim jacket

A/W 2016

Balenciaga  // Fall 2022 #Couture - Paris Haute Couture

balenciaga: leather belt buckle leather mules

Balenciaga Fall 2021 Couture Photography: Mark Borthwick