Wed 31st May
Through solid wooden French doors, models step out onto Avenue George V in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, busting about and getting on with their business. A duet of elderly women enjoy a jaunt, a silver swathed madame is engaged in an argument over the phone, a young man slips into an act as ordinary as retrieving a coin from the pavement on his way to hail a cab. There are denim-clad teenagers and hood-clad pedestrians carrying parcels or shopping baskets, a motorcycle delivery person, a bourgeois dog walker and a boy that zips past on his skateboard. In an instant, the denizens are forced to take shelter from a sudden torrential downpour which proves a terrible inconvenience to passers-by who abhor in protest.
They stalk the cement just outside number 10, the original atelier of Cristóbal Balenciaga from 1937 – which he referred to as “Le Dix” – and the birthplace of his lasting legacy. Are they there for a couture fitting? Or maybe a meeting? The edifice now holds the house’s couture collections, its stone facade serving as the backdrop to this experiential, experimental urban show.
Directed in one continuous shot by Mau Morgó, the five-minute, day-to-night time-lapse style video unfurls like the ballet of metropolitan motion that plays out in the French capital day in, day out, and is scored by Bfrnd’s rework of Édith Piaf’s “Sous le Ciel de Paris”.
From the moment he founded Vetements, Demna’s wry observation of everyday people on the street has been a dynamic behind his subversive designs. He channels the perpetual pulse of real life in real time – the circadian rhythms that flow through a concrete jungle – and his latest Balenciaga crusade was a sober-toned iteration of the same concept, erecting the waltz of the perma-shaded, sharp-shouldered Paresians. Oui oui.
Called Capital B – for Balenciaga – the season’s focus is solely on the craftsmanship, silhouettes and history of the house. Demna sticks to the low profile positioning of his autumn/winter 2023 outing, exercising “the art of making clothes”, reconnecting with the hands-on process of cutting, draping and making, and ensuring that fashion is no longer “seen as entertainment” by prioritising silhouettes over spectacles. So, tailoring becomes key with Demna sculpting piercing shoulders and hourglass waists to the nth degree, in Cristóbal style. Cut into exquisite proportions, enveloping trapezoid coats and puffed-up trenches take shape, alongside shrunken hoodies, maxi skirts, cashmere turtlenecks and pantaleggings all in a predominantly demure palette. A beige cotton drill a hybrid car coat dangles off of an oversized denim twinset, creating two pieces in one. Bathroom towels become skirts, indistinguishable from actual after-shower towels, and are superimposed over baggy jogging trousers. Interspersed between severe elegance and the interplay of refined architectural structure, there are also pieces from Balenciaga’s ‘Garde-Robe’ collection, an annual high-luxe release, such as the silver sequin-fringed embroidered gown at the end.
The resolutely disco look wasn’t alone in its entrance; the urban dance ended with a series of seriously chic floor length gowns followed by lithe, evening gowns seeped in sequins and a crimson red dress with endless pleats made from a technical crepe fabric that speaks to the nighttime economy.
The ensembles were accessorised by Invisible Rectangle metal sunglasses and bug-eyed Dynamo Round shades, as well as hyper-elongated clutch bags and the maison’s iconic Hourglass Hinge handbag. The 24/7 bags are a classic crochet market bag, but in Demna’s deft hand come tricked out in rhinestones. Romeo mules are hyper-elongated with a turned-up square-toed and the Biker Boot – as seen in AW23 – is developed into a pantashoe positioned atop teetering heels, crafted from thick leather with layers upon layers of panelling and padding extending from the waist all the way to the toe. It can morph into a set of bulky leather slippers too, as the wearer sees fit.
Demna also presented the collection in an effortless lookbook shot against the portes-fenêtres of grand Haussmann rooms and backdropped by the Place Vendome and the Arc de Triomphe as they penetrate the city’s skyline. It’s just another day in Paris.
Photography courtesy of Balenciaga.
