Ever since Demna Gvasalia took the helm of Balenciaga in 2015, he has turned the fashion house brand upside down, by now, many people have joined the team, and even many brands refer to Balenciaga in their“Print” efforts, echoing the popular phrase“Question Balenciaga, understand Balenciaga, become Balenciaga”.
This is Balenciaga doing“Style brainwashing”. By using similar pieces and combinations at each show, consumers are instilled with a stereotype of Balenciaga, who, in short, is just being himself, like Alessandro Michele’s Gucci, Glenn Martens’ Diesel and Chanel, Balenciaga has been doing it since Demna Gvasalia, when you see similar pieces or style combinations, the knee-jerk reaction in your mind is to think of Balenciaga, even though it may be modeled after Balenciaga’s brand.
But for nearly a year, Demna Gvasalia has been making some changes, too, after the brand ran ads late last year that featured negative stories about children, making Balenciaga and Demna Gvasalia“Street Rats.” For months, the brand and creative director did nothing but issue an apology on the platform.
Then came Balenciaga Winter 23, the first show since Demna Gvasalia’s comeback. A few days before Ōhide, “I need a show to move on, to liberate myself through my work and what I’m doing,” he said in a one-on-one talk at Balenciaga’s headquarters. “For the last three months, I’ve been living in Hell every day, and I don’t really know how I’m going to get through it mentally.”
Before the winter 23, Demna Gvasalia said that she would focus on the clothes in the future, but many people didn’t understand what that meant, people thought it was a very boring show, and didn’t see where his focus was going. Like the Fall 24 series this time around, most of the comments were still about whether Demna Gvasalia was“Slacking off,” but in the follow-up to the winter 23 Showroom, people found Demna Gvasalia“Changed.”. For example, Look16’s visual“Skirt” of jeans is actually a combination of two pairs of jeans; Look26’s zipper sports hoodie has an inflatable device in addition to a regular shoulder pad design, can make the overall look even more exaggerated; Look22 black jacket is actually a piece of clothing stitched together as a“Hemline” design… … details that are consistent with Demna Gvasalia’s style but at the same time quite different from his past self.
The same goes for Summer 24 shows. Look1 by Ella, mother of Demna Gvasalia, the coat is made from three deconstructed and reworked Vintage dresses; the final look is made from seven pre-2000 wedding dresses reassembled… The shoes seen at the show have a double-magnetic design, while the“Passport” decoration of interest is a combination of Balenciaga passports and airline tickets, but is actually a long purse…
Whether it’s tailoring or typography, design, or materials, it’s a testament to Demna Gvasalia’s belief that she will focus on her clothes in the future. In other words, the current state of Balenciaga is that Demna Gvasalia is pushing the boundaries of her own style, and the“Price” for that choice is apparent laziness.
So, by its very nature, Demna Gvasalia is not“Slacking off” to Balenciaga, and even if the 10XL sneakers are“Stitched together,” But its explosive nature means that Demna Gvasalia’s brand still has the ability to generate explosive revenue and marketing, which is very important to running a luxury brand. You’ve probably seen a lot of examples in the fashion industry today of people who have gone their separate ways from the brand, like Clare Waight Keller and Givenchy, Gabriel Hearst and Chloé, Charles De Vilmorin and Rochas, and so on, in recent years, but Demna Gvasalia has been able to stand out from the pack, even Living Up, and perhaps we should look at his slacking in a different light.
