A Retrospective: Balenciaga under Nicolas Ghesquière (1997-2012)

[LadyJunon]

Ghesquière's Balenciaga is my favourite fashion era ever. Unfortunately, I'm a 20 year-old and was unlucky enough to discover the existence of Balenciaga through his last collection there.

While I do enjoy his work at Louis Vuitton, I really want to focus on the magic behind the iconicity of his Balenciaga as well as his best shows and campaigns. (We can add Louis Vuitton when he leaves or retires.)

I'll start to post a chronological collection archive a bit later.

 

[LadyJunon]

Also, if anyone has the full runway show footage from Spring'99 to Fall'05, please share it with us.

 

[velvetandsilk]

You find photos on firstview.

 

[Drusilla_]

So much of the silhouette that characterised 00s/early 10s fashion (lean, narrow, strong but compact shoulders) was down to his influence.

 

[jeremydante]

No one ever posted anything in this thread; would love to see a full retrospective with HQ scans from collections and campaigns.

 

[Maayan]

Balenciaga F/W 1998:

My archives

 

[Maayan]

Balenciaga S/S 1999:

My archives

 

[Alquimista]

I simply do not understand HOW he came up with these clothes. Nobody was doing clothes this way. Mainstream or underground fashion.

Nicolas' clothes are more constructive than deconstructive. I guess that is what differentiates him from his predecessors. The APC brand had a influence on his approach too but I'm not sure.

@Lola701 do you know what relantionship Nicolas had with APC the brand? 🧐

 

[Creative]

Where did his talent go? He was everything. What a genius. I grew up obsessed with him. Sad to see what he is doing now but thankful to see what he did at Balenciaga.

 

[helmutnotdead]

he’s still THAT good. it’s a pity some people are not able to see it.

 

[helmutnotdead]

well, his peak was clearly between 2003/2010. truly strong collections with a few exceptions but I see his Vuitton and the clothes are far far better than anything shown by his competitors.

 

[kasper!]

Did Pierre Hardy exit the same time like Nicolas or a bit earlier?

Waiting for Lola to answer me....During his tenure there were some very avant garde shoes from Mr Hardy.