Demna shows her life and work at Balenciaga

He is one of the most influential designers of the last ten years and at Balenciaga he created a new elegance with recognizable codes. This morning, Demna (who has wanted to be named after him for several seasons) delivered arguably the most personal show of his work since becoming head of the luxury label in 2015.

This parade is first and foremost a tribute to clothing production. It was already like that last season. After the controversy over two Balenciaga ad campaigns in late 2022, the Georgian-born designer left his spectacular and provocative fashion shows in the snow or mud to focus on what he calls his specialty of “clothing.” Guests were also invited to a small vintage book called Balenciaga Summer Twenty-Four, which contained all the instructions for the traditional assembly of a suit jacket.

Isabelle Hooper, Mistress of Ceremonies

Clothing, therefore, above all before images on social networks, before controversy or the march of the world. But for Balenciaga, there was no shortage of excitement and buzz that each Demna collection generates today. At 11 o’clock, under the burning sun, the public standing in front of the Dome of the Disabled is already rushing to see the celebrities. They are more than last season. Colonel Sprouse (Riverdale), Virginie Ledoyen, the Hilton sisters, Naomi Campbell, Emily Ratajkowski, and Erykah Badu are crying hysterics. Isabelle Huppert, among the faithful, arrives wearing a huge red coat. It’s also her voice that welcomes guests inside the show, decorated like a theater carpeted in garnet red velvet. The actress shows off the different frames of the suit during the fashion show, which opens with the designer’s mother, Ella, her first source of inspiration, according to the spotlight. She sits on pumps and wears a black double-breasted coat made from three reconstructed, deconstructed vintage garments. Everything is said.

All on the podium

The casting caused a sensation. Cathy Horry, famous American fashion critic, Diane Pernet, a leading figure in contemporary fashion, known for her black veil, Robin Mison, director of public relations for Balenciaga, Lionel Vermeil, director of future luxury at Kering. group, Linda Lopa, former maestro of the fashion department of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, as well as Max, Demna’s personal trainer, Yvonne, her teacher in Antwerp, singer Iseult, Samuel Quadri, basketball player, Amanda Lepore, American. a transsexual icon transformed by cosmetic surgery … and models, footballers, musicians, students and even a mechanical engineer. A very personal cabin, close to Demna, her core vision of fashion and all the identities that make up her community.

Stitching precision and fun touches

Collection -88 looks — Demna is a complete grammar book at Balenciaga. His disruptive tailoring and unusual streetwear, his oversized four-sleeved jackets, his all-over floral print dresses, his long skirts with removable panels, his wide-leg pants and coats that slide to the ground, his XXL bombers, his trench coats. belted, its superpositions and its 2D deconstructions, cloth robes that act as coats… It’s all in the structure, the posture, like this long torn black dress that the girl wears with a slightly arched back; the tension and these everyday details that are always so fun, like these supermarket shopping bags printed with fruits or vegetables, or these classic derbies that the models carry in their hands like clutches. The boys also wear biker jackets (made from recycled leather panels) over their baggy jeans and their XXL sneakers, and the girls in their evening dresses made from pieces from vintage boutiques.

The final look is carried by BFRND, the mysterious French musician whose symphonic techno accompanies every Balenciaga show. He is Demna’s husband and he carries 7 vintage wedding dresses cut, layered and layered. It closes a set filled with soul and emotion. On stage, the designer is bombarded with compliments. In fashion, after all, the most important thing is not to rise, but to stay there, well surrounded.