Amy Pugsley After over half a century hiatus Balenciaga has returned to the runway. The current creative director Demna Gvasalia has continued to push boundaries of innovation and creativity with jaw-dropping atypical designs. Modernity met fashion history with 63 looks debuting in Cristóbal Balenciaga’s own Parisian salon in front of a tiny crowd of about 100 people. In a statement, Demna said, “For me, it’s a new moment, a time to enter into something different in my life. Most people probably put me in a box as someone who designs hoodies and sneakers. And that’s really not who I am. So for me, it was really important to use this opportunity to show who I really am as a designer. This is the manifestation of that. I hope!”
The recent show was an iconic fashion moment for fashionistas around the world. Cristóbal Balenciaga was a pioneer of his craft and the Spanish designer’s brilliance defined his era. Once described as the master of haute couture, his unconventional style and his refusal to conform to the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture’s rules meant that his atelier was never given official membership. Today, none of that seems to matter and the return to couture is giving new energy to the unstoppable brand.
Now, Balenciaga with Demna Gvasalia at the helm is giving fans something to get excited about with the Fall 2021 collection that debuted this past week. “Balenciaga is architecture. It is not design. It is not decoration. It is about architecture and the garment being the first layer on the body. So, I really didn’t have a choice especially in this house. But also this is my way of making clothes. Less embellishment, and more constructing around the human form, and giving it posture and attitude in a couture way that is sophisticated and elegant. Trying to put Cristobal’s legacy and mine into one aesthetic,” Gvasalia said in a public statement.
