No couture house tries as many technically audacious ideas as Balenciaga, whose couturier Demna presented tinfoil dresses and silk satin suits on Wednesday in Paris.
The show, which took place in the house's historic building on Avenue George V, marked the midpoint of Paris' four-day haute couture season.
Security was extremely tight entering the show, with just 200 guests, including Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts, Selma Blair, Michelle Yeoh and Katie Perry, clad in worn-out illusion boots, a wide open empress coat and no top or bra.
Inside, a lone female voice recounted a psychoanalytic session, as if the audience were lying collectively on a couch.
Before the cast circulated through a half-dozen salons in a collection that ranged from gigantic ensembles to strictly sculpted dresses made of second-skin leather, lightweight neoprene and crushed metals.
Designer Demna's goal, an homage to the house's “subculture dress codes.” Focusing in particular on four key elements: ¾ length; profile or cocoon silhouettes; Eccentric innovation in hardware and fabrics.
As a result, they sent coats so large that they seemed too heavy for much of the cast, who trudged through the halls. Or puffed sleeves that almost floated on oversized bomber jackets.
While a fabulous group of insect masks, placed just a few centimetres from the models' faces, were paired with grunge plaid shirts, baseball jerseys or hand-painted heavy metal t-shirts. Truly eccentric hardware.
Other cast members were covered in oversized felt hats on top of which were scarves or huge pagoda hats. An ideal collection for an unconventional surreal horror film.
“We are going to take this session. Gently to the end,” the narrator intoned with polite smiles.
Which leads to a giant blue insect mask worn with a huge faux horsehair coat and, at the end, a huge cloud of tulle enveloping a woman. Made instead of nylon gazar, about 47 meters carefully wrapped around the model. Constructed without seams and intended to be worn only once. Talk about rarefied fashion.
Hyperdeconstruction until the end. On to the backwards men's jacket that became a fabulous cocktail, followed by a rags-to-riches dress in red, black and pink with scraps of recycled fabric, all tied together. Or María Carla Boscono with a gray sweatshirt that was intertwined with an oversized black quilted coat. Although Demna's hottest look was a huge faded denim jacket, with one side cut like a John Chamberlin car crash sculpture.
“My role at Balenciaga is to explain to everyone who Balenciaga was and not just to fashion designers. I do it by researching the archives and learning for myself how important Christopher really was,” concluded the Georgia-born designer.
Copyright © 2024 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.
