m.a.g.

FASHION. BALENCIAGA AND DEMNA GVASALIA

The risky and urban aesthetics of the designer, as well as his culture in the world of fashion, acquired from his previous experiences in other firms such as Maison Martin Margiela, Louis Vuitton and his own brand Vetements, has resulted in an interesting meeting between Demna Gvasalia and Balenciaga.

The designer defines himself as pragmatic and attempts to make his collections the reality of the street that cannot be ignored, and the truth is that the presentation of his collections are a spectacle that impacts, not only in terms of his designs but also the staging, which far from being theatrical, invites you to reflect on.

Proof of this is the return of Balenciaga hand in hand with Gvasalia to Haute Couture since 2020, in his words “because haute couture is part of the foundation of this house, and it is the essence of fashion”, but it takes it away from the elite and brings it closer to the people.

The designer tries to turn fashion into a spectacle available to everyone, in visual culture, in pure creation, in art that reaches the people of the street, moving away from the traditional idea and the image of haute couture in general, distant and limiting.

In his spring summer 2023 collection he fills the luxury of darkness, earth and mud, and he turns the event into a surprising moment, distancing himself from the summer to plunge into the darkness, closer to autumn, and far from what we have come to understand as luxury; approaching the urban and perhaps the world pessimism, more than as a vindication, as a form of empathy with our current world. Likewise he also somehow converts the spectator into the protagonist of his collections, leaving it up to us to interpret them, since he has stated that he has decided not to further explain his collections or verbalize his designs, but to express a state of mind.

«Fashion in its best case scenario should not need a story to be sold to someone. You either like it or not.» Demna Gvasalia

It is definitely an interesting proposal, which tries to capture our attention and which makes us wonder, amongst other things, what Cristobal Balenciaga has to do with Demna Gvasalia and reply that nothing, absolutely nothing, but that the firm that he first created has evolved through his different creative directors, using the history of the brand as simple inspiration, and why not, as an excuse to create, to finally, and hand in hand with Demna, come down from the pedestals and approach the street.

“The set of this show is a metaphor for digging for the truth and being down to earth” Demna Gvasalia

See the show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yh_1K9s6UV0

Words: Jo García Garrido