Balenciaga F/W 01.02 Paris

[Scott]

^i agree i loved when nicholas was a bit more romantic.

ditto with what you say pastry...something about his early seasons that feel quite timeless.

and helmut...please continue posting as you see. you see,archives are in fact very important to a fashion board....it adds an extra depth we were missing at the moment. especially enlightening if it is so timeless.

 

[VogueParisLover]

Wow! I totally love early Ghesquiere.

Thanks Helmut, I really appreciate these old Balenciaga collection posts. I think it's much easier that having to go to style.com, because I'm always on tfs.

I don't know what some people's problems are though.

 

[disco54]

well I some how always loved Balenciaga of this period then now , where it has gotten very costumey and too robotic and harsh

 

[mikeijames]

simplicity and great design do not have to be mutually exclusive. ghesquiere created some of the most beautiful and effortless pieces in this collection while showing his mastery.

 

[Pastry]

^Ironically enough, that's precisely what Cristobal Balenciaga himself did.

 

[mackos]

Austere black is always quite a soft spot of mine. Ten years later this collection feels as stylish, relevant and desirable as ever.

 

[BBBBB]

I wish he would do all-black outfits still.. The simpler pieces are ageless & new, and I´ve never seen Liya or Karen E. look this epic.
Any ideas where I could locate better quality pics of the runway photos? Do any of the press photographers present at the show keep archives, and sell individual pics/lookbooks from vintage-colections?

 

[thejarc]

While I do agree that recent Ghesquiere doesn't excite me as much as the one back then did you have entitle him to evolve, which he definitely did, but unfortunately in the wrong direction.

 

[dancv]

I wish he would do all-black outfits still.. The simpler pieces are ageless & new, and I´ve never seen Liya or Karen E. look this epic.
Any ideas where I could locate better quality pics of the runway photos? Do any of the press photographers present at the show keep archives, and sell individual pics/lookbooks from vintage-colections?

The new Balenciaga website has images in higher quality all the way back to '98. Worth having a look!

 

[zaraffe]

Here are a few HQ's via balenciaga.com



This is perfection

 

[BBBBB]

OMG! I didn´t think they´d have an archives section! Those are so beautifull!!! Going there as we speak, thanks so much!

 

[dancv]

No problem mate! Looking at his past work in the early 2000s reminds me why I like his work for Balenciaga so much.

 

[YohjiAddict]

vogue.com

 

[YohjiAddict]

vogue.com

 

[Lola701]

It’s almost impossible to find a video of this collection.
What I think is interesting in Nicolas’s journey is to see how defined his aesthetic has been from the beginning. From the first Balenciaga show to the last Vuitton show, we can see the same principles.

The big evolution is in his approach to colors and decorations. And I must admit that his clothes looks better on glamazons. I know they are less edgy nowadays but it’s true.

I gagged when I saw pictures of this collection on Raf’s moodboard in Dior & I.

 

[StylishCynic]

It’s almost impossible to find a video of this collection.
What I think is interesting in Nicolas’s journey is to see how defined his aesthetic has been from the beginning. From the first Balenciaga show to the last Vuitton show, we can see the same principles.

The big evolution is in his approach to colors and decorations. And I must admit that his clothes looks better on glamazons. I know they are less edgy nowadays but it’s true.

I gagged when I saw pictures of this collection on Raf’s moodboard in Dior & I.

Funny enough, I have the Bar Jacket from look #2 of this collection and the quiet shaping of the hourglass shape is very reminiscent of the Dior Bar Jackets from Raf's tenure at the house.


Source: My own picture

 

[YohjiAddict]

The double breasted strapless coat-dress with a structured waist and basques is definitely an antecedent to Raf's tailoring and cropped ball gowns throughout his tenure. Was that the look on his moodboard?

This collection references victorian silhouettes and ornaments. Just like Dior with his New Look, Nicolas tried to make the 19th century relevant for a contemporary audience. I think he succeded.

 

[dior_couture1245]

And I must admit that his clothes looks better on glamazons. I know they are less edgy nowadays but it’s true.

Its SO true.

 

[donyan]

this collection seems so cool and effortless, lightyears away from the complicated stuff he's doing nowadays. I don't even see this as being the same Designer of today's LV, and it makes me yearn for his days at Balenciaga.

 

[tricotineacetat]

The big evolution is in his approach to colors and decorations.

That's true for most of his work at Vuitton. It might be part of the brand's background in leather goods and accessories but I find most of his Vuitton clothes to be loaded with a lot of 'gimmick-y' branding details that his better work at Balenciaga never did: An oversized high-polish zipper here, some metal hardware there, lots of clashing colors and print. His best collections for Balenciaga were mostly known for great cuts and construction research and while the trophy pieces of those shows were very much 'worked', they did not scream as much status as his later collections for Vuitton. Then again, with most designers going into such heavily 'branded' design today, I can only but assume the chic 'fashion intelligence' customers of yore have by now been replaced by the streetstylers and influencers of today...