For Demna Gvasalia’s first runway collection as creative director of Balenciaga, he sought to modernize archetypal designs from the house’s storied archive. Gvasalia’s masterful ability at constructing a distinct attitude through cut and form was expressed this season in the collection’s hunched-shouldered, hip-jutting opening looks, giving the model’s bodies a natural S-Curve, a pose popularized by Balenciaga women of the 1950s. The collection’s oversized puffer jackets and down coats went through a similar deconstructed treatment and were manipulated to fall just below the wearer’s shoulders, while the glamorous side of Balenciaga was seen in the jewel-encrusted stilettos on model’s feet and intricately embroidered floral looks. Exaggerated, tent dresses made of collaged scarves also constituted key looks, while there was a uniform storyline of oversized bags, skirts and coats. If Gvasalia’s first runway collection is any indication of what is to come, the designer’s vision for the future of Balenciaga is an exciting exercise in the beauty of contradiction, classic and new age, edited yet robust, simple and complex, a quintessential design language that will keep everyone guessing.
References
- 1
- 2
Antonio Lopez
Red Coat Series, Paloma Picasso, 1970s
Giorgio di Sant' Angelo
Klimt Dress, Fall 1969
Robert Mallet-Stevens
Chair, 1930
Karl Friedrich Schinkel
Neuer Pavillion, 1824-25, Berlin, Germany
Balenciaga Day Dress
Spring/Summer 1958
Mike Kelley
Memory Ware Flat #13, 2001
Ettore Sottsass & Perry A. King for Olivetti
Valentine Typewriter,1969
David Gammon
Custom Turntable, 1964
Charles James by Horst P. Horst
Harper's Bazaar, October 1938
Haim Steinback
Ultra Red #2, 1986
Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret
Villa Savoye, 1928-1931
Hector Guimard
Boudoir Chandelier, 1913
Balenciaga
Harringbone Suit, 1950s
John Baldessari
Quality material..., 1967 - 1968
Martin Kippenberger
Worktimer, 1987
Philippe Parreno
Candles (Interior Cartoons), 2007
Roberto Gabetti & Aimaro Isola
Tacolo da Taeletta Vanity, 1970
Sarah Charlesworth
Bird Woman, 1986
Stefan Zwicky
(Le Corbusier's iconic LC2 armchair)
References
Antonio Lopez
Red Coat Series, Paloma Picasso, 1970s
1 of 20
Giorgio di Sant' Angelo
Klimt Dress, Fall 1969
2 of 20
Robert Mallet-Stevens
Chair, 1930
3 of 20
Karl Friedrich Schinkel
Neuer Pavillion, 1824-25, Berlin, Germany
4 of 20
Balenciaga Day Dress
Spring/Summer 1958
5 of 20
Mike Kelley
Memory Ware Flat #13, 2001
6 of 20
Ettore Sottsass & Perry A. King for Olivetti
Valentine Typewriter,1969
7 of 20
David Gammon
Custom Turntable, 1964
8 of 20
Charles James by Horst P. Horst
Harper's Bazaar, October 1938
9 of 20
Haim Steinback
Ultra Red #2, 1986
10 of 20
Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret
Villa Savoye, 1928-1931
11 of 20
Hector Guimard
Boudoir Chandelier, 1913
12 of 20
Balenciaga
Harringbone Suit, 1950s
14 of 20
John Baldessari
Quality material..., 1967 - 1968
15 of 20
Martin Kippenberger
Worktimer, 1987
16 of 20
Philippe Parreno
Candles (Interior Cartoons), 2007
17 of 20
Roberto Gabetti & Aimaro Isola
Tacolo da Taeletta Vanity, 1970
18 of 20
Sarah Charlesworth
Bird Woman, 1986
19 of 20
