Demna Gvasalia’s obsession with banal, everyday design narratives rose to new heights in his spring/summer 2018 menswear collection for Balenciaga.
To further the designer’s depiction of character stereotypes, from the corporate man doing ‘business casual’ to the has-been rocker and the young father on ‘daddy duty’, models were outfitted in re-imagined classics like pinstripe slacks, acid-wash denim, loose Hawaiian shirts, oversized blazers and patent leather buckle loafers. Gvasalia slipped in some sporty athleisure looks as well, ranging from 1980s-inspired outerwear and obscenely oversized ski jackets, to brightly colored t-shirts and transparent plastic ponchos. One of the most striking design elements carried throughout the collection was the tri-length, segmented pants seen in nineteen of the fifty-six looks, composed of a variety of colors and a cacophony of materials. With techno music blaring as countless models and young children stomped down the makeshift, wooded runway of the Bois de Boulogne, the individual narratives within the collection were tied seamlessly together by the overarching beauty involved in fatherhood.
References
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George Nelson
Sling Sofa, 1964
Kazimir Malevich
Sportsmen, 1928-30
Charles Gwathmey
Residence and Studio, 1965, long Island, New York
Robert Mallet Stevens
Armchairs, 1921
Diane Arbus
A Young Brooklyn Family Going For a Sunday Outing, N.Y.C.,1966
Helmut Lang
Spring/Summer 2000
André Breton, 1924
Julia Wachtel
Landscape No. 4 (Inside and Outside), 1990
Claes Oldenburg
Soft Fur Good Humors, 1963
Ettore Sottsass
Rosso Grigio e Nero Occasional Table from the Bharata series, 1988
Felix Gonzalez-Torres
Untitled (Perfect Lovers), 1991
Greyhound Bus Station
Jackson, Tennessee; built in 1938
Ron Nagle
Handsome Drifter, 2015
Ron Nagle
Fortgang, 2002
Ron Nagle
Triangular Tracy, 2002
Jacques Émile Ruhlmann
“Tournant” Desk Armchair
Paul Weiss
Bob Colacello, Andy Warhol and Christopher Murray in Hats, 1979
Jack Goldstein
Still from Butterflies, 1975
Jack Goldstein
The Knife, 1975
John Baldessari
Blue Boy (with Yellow Boy - One in Hawaiian Tie, One With Dark), 1989
Mike Kelley
The Thirteen Seasons (Heavy on the Winter) #9: Snow on the Temples, 1994; #11: The Giving Old Man, 1994; #12: Death, 1994
Richard Bernstein
Candy Darling Silkscreened Poster, 1971
References
George Nelson
Sling Sofa, 1964
1 of 23
Kazimir Malevich
Sportsmen, 1928-30
2 of 23
Charles Gwathmey
Residence and Studio, 1965, long Island, New York
3 of 23
Robert Mallet Stevens
Armchairs, 1921
4 of 23
Diane Arbus
A Young Brooklyn Family Going For a Sunday Outing, N.Y.C.,1966
5 of 23
Helmut Lang
Spring/Summer 2000
6 of 23
André Breton, 1924
7 of 23
Julia Wachtel
Landscape No. 4 (Inside and Outside), 1990
8 of 23
Claes Oldenburg
Soft Fur Good Humors, 1963
9 of 23
Ettore Sottsass
Rosso Grigio e Nero Occasional Table from the Bharata series, 1988
10 of 23
Felix Gonzalez-Torres
Untitled (Perfect Lovers), 1991
11 of 23
Greyhound Bus Station
Jackson, Tennessee; built in 1938
12 of 23
Ron Nagle
Handsome Drifter, 2015
13 of 23
Ron Nagle
Fortgang, 2002
14 of 23
Ron Nagle
Triangular Tracy, 2002
15 of 23
Jacques Émile Ruhlmann
“Tournant” Desk Armchair
16 of 23
Paul Weiss
Bob Colacello, Andy Warhol and Christopher Murray in Hats, 1979
17 of 23
Jack Goldstein
Still from Butterflies, 1975
19 of 23
Jack Goldstein
The Knife, 1975
20 of 23
John Baldessari
Blue Boy (with Yellow Boy - One in Hawaiian Tie, One With Dark), 1989
21 of 23
Mike Kelley
The Thirteen Seasons (Heavy on the Winter) #9: Snow on the Temples, 1994; #11: The Giving Old Man, 1994; #12: Death, 1994
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