Balenciaga: playing to the gallery, but still dressing to impress
THE story of Balenciaga is the tale of modern branding. Demna Gvasalia, its creative director has such a highly attuned ear for cultural and social flashpoints, such an eye for the kind of ugliness that is as every bit as arresting as beauty, and such a genius for spinning them into unbelievably pricey fashion statements, that the house now consistently sits in the top five of global hitters. Gvasalia has turned Millets-style anoraks into luxury outerwear, introduced the world to a £2,000 string bag and led the way into a status-freighted trainers gold rush. The Balenciaga Triple S (circa £615) is a bona fide cult, repeatedly selling out on multiple websites.
Kering, its parent company (which also owns Alexander Mcqueen and Gucci, inter alia) must be laughing all the way to the vaults. Gvasalia seems perky enough, ensconced in his comfy studio in Zurich (one day there will be a reliable study on the number of subversives who base themselves in Switzerland).
But the problem with flashpoints is that they tend, by definition, to be ephemeral. Athleisure, a sporty streetwear mode of dressing that Gvasalia championed at Balenciaga and his own label Vetements, already seems passé.
Indeed Vetements, a white hot commodity five years ago, is now pretty much over, while Balenciaga, according to some retailers, is regarded primarily as a sneakers manufacture in some markets. This is precarious territory for a venerated, 99-year-old Parisian house founded by one of the greatest couturiers of all time. You’d think.
But then he goes and produces a collection like yesterday’s, which was brim-full of brilliantly ingenious cutting techniques and dazzling ideas that would work on any age.
From deliberately askew collars (it sounds like one of those preposterous fashion victim affectations, but looked surprisingly good) to raised boat-neck tunics in silk satin with obi bows at the back, the reinterpretations of Cristóbal’s meticulous architecture were flawlessly executed.
But the real testament of Gvasalia’s talent is the beautifully understated elegance of his drapy silk shirt dresses, knotted at one side, with dangling cuffs, and the stunning (deceptive) simplicity of his silk jumpsuits and the ease of his deconstructed trousershirt-jacket suits.
There was plenty that played to the fashion-victim gallery too, notably exaggerated wide shoulders (they’re definitely back). But make no mistake, for those with big budgets, this is still a label that can dress to impress, in every sense.