Demna's first show in Shanghai, naturally, took an unexpected turn. This time, it was pouring rain and somehow it only lasted as long as the show lasted.
However, the summer rain helped add drama (or what Demna called “uncontrolled poetry”) to the show.
When everyone, including celebrities like Michelle Yeoh, Sophie Marceau, Liu Haoran, Chris Lee, and Yang Chaoyue, realized that the rain wasn't going to stop anytime soon, some continued playing dodge while others simply threw away their umbrellas and embraced the wet look that came with them. It came straight from the track.
As the brand's third destination show after New York and Los Angeles, the spring 2025 co-ed collection was presented on an elevated runway at Shanghai's Pudong Art Museum, an architectural marvel designed by Jean Nouvel and the latest addition to the Shanghai futuristic skyline.
As models walked down an elevated, misty runway under the “good fortune” rain, all of Demna's key elements were highly visible: the ultra-oversized cuts; the comically oversized sneakers; subversive streetwear; the elegant ballgowns with unorthodox details, such as a tromp d'oeil feather made from recycled plastic; a gold foil bubble dress and a ballgown lined with earrings, necklaces and padlocks, seen on Ming Xi, the Chinese model turned socialite.
Several models, as well as Thai star and PP brand ambassador Krit Amnuaydechkorn, stomped out in eight-inch leather platform boots, along with a super elongated silhouette, meant to echo the skyscrapers vying for attention to along the Pudong waterfront.
“I stretched silhouettes vertically as much as I could; I think I have never made such tall and vertical silhouettes, [it was like] the environment we are in, which is the entire Pudong area,” Demna explained in a media meeting after the show.
“I had never been to China before, so the image of China that I have before my eyes is based on the images that I have seen, which is very high, very high, very infinite,” he added.
Although Demna said he made no literal references to Shanghai or its famous street style scene, multiple looks on the runway hinted at style signifiers often seen on the city's streets. There's the mysterious Chinese woman with her unfashionable perm, her elegant trench coat, or her laced dresses; there's the stone-faced cool guy clutching leather shoe boxes, and not to be overlooked is the cute “rich girl” in a baggy babydoll dress, among other downtown archetypes.
“I just like silhouettes,” Demna said of his thought process. “There's really no intellectualization behind it. I have made this selection at a very instinctive level of what I like, what excites me, what generates desire in me, to create a new balance between the different parts of my aesthetic.”
American sportswear brand Under Armor also received the Balenciaga treatment, with its overlapping arch logo stacked against Balenciaga's and imposed on zip-up hoodies. Rendered in black and red, the capsule featured oversized sweatshirts, sock-style shoes, and more. Several items are now available online and the full collection will be released later this year.
Balenciaga x Under Armor
Courtesy
What stole the show was a deconstructed “handbag lady” look seen on Du Juan, and a tromp d'oeil feather dress made from recycled pink plastic bags, which the brand says are a decade old, seen on his muse, Eliza Douglas.
Also added to the collection was a collaboration with China's leading online payments platform, Alipay. Easily dismissed as a normal commodity-driven stunt, the T-shirt was labeled by Chinese netizens as “one of the best references to Chinese-style consumerism.” The 4,700 renminbi, or $661, mainland-exclusive item has already launched on Tmall, WeChat Mini Program, balenciaga.cn and select stores.
Balenciaga x Alipay
Courtesy
Behind Balenciaga's mammoth show is the Kering-owned luxury house's ambition to break new ground in the Chinese market, including opening new stores and upgrading existing ones.
A four-story standalone store is set to open in Beijing's Sanlitun Taikoo Li, while another large-scale flagship, at HKRI Taikoo Hui in Shanghai, still under construction, has already become a selfie Mecca for legions of fans. Of the brand.
Last November, Balenciaga's MixC store in Shenzhen moved to the first floor and was expanded and updated to its “raw architecture” format. The brand can now be found in 24 first- and second-tier cities in mainland China.
Perhaps the language of commodities, which resonates strongly with China's nouveau riche, will continue to drive Balenciaga's growth story in China.
A parallel collaboration with Nan Xiang Mu Dou, a Shanghai steamed bun restaurant, even featured an ancient Chinese win-win money-shaped cake, further perpetuating the message.
The creative director's journey also became a sensation on Chinese social media, with videos of him visiting a pet store and styling a VIP client spreading around the internet like wildfire.
In Demna's own words, direct communication has always been part of his vision for the brand. “What I believe in is bringing what I do, my vision to the people I appreciate and consume, and China is that place for me,” said the designer.
