Balenciaga Haute Couture F/W 2024.25 Paris

[Suvi]

Something tells me he's about to leave

If this was the collection meant to decide Demna’s destiny at Balenciaga, then I think we can set the clock on and start counting the minutes.

We are counting the days!!

Your Spider-Senses should be recalibrated. You also forgot to mention Cristóbal spinning around in his grave.

 

[helmutnotdead]

yeah I have the feeling that he knows he's out so he's doing whatever the hell he wants.

 

[tourbillions]

his high fashion senses are so pretentious. the menswear wouldnt be a bad rtw collection tho just not couture. Why does he keep wrapping girls in foil

 

[brandon J pierre]

No talent versus talent yet here we are and one is a star and one is pretty much unknown.
Oliver will work dreams at this house. But the customers would have to be cut in half because of their taste issues.

 

[TaylorBinque]

The fact that some people enjoy that Demna trolled critics and fashion. What a way to destroy the legacy. Completely. There is a way to comment of social issues. Yet, he chose to show this. A mess of badly designed and tasteless skills and the audacity to call it couture. A disrespect to Cristobal, to his peers and even to the people working with him. So much for social commentary he forgot to actually makes clothes.

 

[PDFSD]

The fact that some people enjoy that Demna trolled critics and fashion. What a way to destroy the legacy. Completely. There is a way to comment of social issues. Yet, he chose to show this. A mess of badly designed and tasteless skills and the audacity to call it couture. A disrespect to Cristobal, to his peers and even to the people working with him. So much for social commentary he forgot to actually makes clothes.

The folks working with him are mostly in competition to provide the most viral or crazy idea, he surrounds himself with these younger eager kids, this i got from person i know working in the team.

It a way of working fostered by him, so clearly it's what he likes and enjoys to do.

The trolling critics and fashion idea is running thin since a few seasons because its not cleverly done and evidently empty, how long can you be so preoccupied with haters or nee sayers, why not cater to progress and pushing oneself further did he not find peace in Switzerland ?

 

[StylishCynic]

WWD's review:

Balenciaga Fall 2024 Couture: Pushing the Experimental Envelope​

Demna melded four key house codes with his own, alternative-minded fashion universe.
by MILES SOCHA

“I hate hats,” Demna declared backstage after the Balenciaga couture show, even though “eccentric headwear” was one of four emblematic codes of founder Cristóbal Balenciaga that he chose to explore this season through the lens of subcultures. “It’s such a useless object, but it’s such an important object to complete the silhouette.”

He had featured gleaming, dome-shaped hats in his couture debut back in 2021. Here, they looked more like black T-shirts reeking of cigarettes tossed over a lampshade after a bender — which is exactly the attitude Demna seemed to be after.

In recent months, the gulf has widened between Balenciaga’s image on the red carpet — sculptural, but demure gowns inspired directly by the archives — and Demna’s angst-ridden ready-to-wear runways, still rampant with Frankenstein boots, ginormous sneakers and hardcore dystopian layers.

Here, the two universes were brought closer together, although not always harmoniously, as in a fishtail gown composed of melted plastic carrier bags that looked about as appealing as it sounds.

Still, in a ho-hum couture season full of rather plain clothes and no-risk silhouettes, Demna pushed the experimental envelope with jumbo jeans, cocoon-shaped T-shirts, stiffened and sculptural leather blousons, and pumps so pointy you could pierce a wiener with them and roast it on an open flame.
Backstage he described his C-shaped silhouettes that were revealed in profile, achieved by backing jersey hoodies or jeans jackets with silk scuba satin to bulge out the back, and reinforced by those jutting hats and extra-long shoes. Profile silhouettes were the second Cristóbal code, and the others were three-quarter-length sleeves, seen on hoodies and blousons, and fabric innovation.

Wizardry with textiles included a silk “tuffetage” embroidery that approximated buffalo-plaid flannel for an oversize men’s shirt; heavy-metal concert T-shirts that took 70 hours to hand-paint, and a faux-fur coat realized with a herringbone marquetry technique that took nearly two months to realize. More than any other designer, Demna has extended the territory of couture by collaborating with tech companies, opening Balenciaga Couture Stores, and upcycling elements of old clothes into new couture creations.

On Wednesday, he created offbeat gowns made from accumulations of surplus Balenciaga outerwear and jerseys, and also introduced the concept of ephemeral couture since the finale look, an egg-shaped mass of 47 meters of black nylon held together with staples, was prepared backstage like a soufflé you order at the start of your meal.

“About 30 minutes before the show, the dress didn’t exist,” he said, explaining that couture is not about need, but about “an experience of wearing clothes.”

Staged at Balenciaga’s historic couture salons on Avenue George V, the show had a zen mood heightened by the meditative, self-help mantras that served as a soundtrack, which guided listeners how to “create a path to a happy life.”

Demna’s happy place seems to be poking a thumb in the eye of couture norms, occasionally with wry humor. A case in point: His favorite model Eliza Douglas came out in a seamless black velvet column that covered her entire body from the neck down, putting the focus on her archival necklace from 1960.

“A jewelry display case almost” was how Demna described her look.

 

[deango]

 

[susseinmcswanny]

Omg get over yourself 😭

 

[thismortalcoil]

No talent versus talent yet here we are and one is a star and one is pretty much unknown.
Oliver will work dreams at this house. But the customers would have to be cut in half because of their taste issues.

View attachment 1282498 View attachment 1282499 View attachment 1282500 View attachment 1282501 View attachment 1282502

Fall Winter 1999 😉

 

[brandon J pierre]

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Fall Winter 1999 😉

Amazing show

 

[brandon J pierre]

Oliver chimed in 🙃😂😲

 

[90sFan]

Loved half of the show… the other half was…. Hmmm ok… not my fave from Balenciaga, but still the best out there!

 

[Nader]

The folks working with him are mostly in competition to provide the most viral or crazy idea, he surrounds himself with these younger eager kids, this i got from person i know working in the team.

It a way of working fostered by him, so clearly it's what he likes and enjoys to do.

The trolling critics and fashion idea is running thin since a few seasons because its not cleverly done and evidently empty, how long can you be so preoccupied with haters or nee sayers, why not cater to progress and pushing oneself further did he not find peace in Switzerland ?

emphasis on younger

 

[susseinmcswanny]

Omfg I am dying at her going along with the track at the beginning

 

[THD96]

Sorry, but it's a no for me this time.

When the gimmicks speak louder than the design, it's game over for me. No matter how much social commentary or intention they put behind it, it means nothing to me if it doesn't reflect on the clothes.
His couture used to be interesting because there was an effort to separate it from his usual RTW. And now he brings all of his usual banality into couture, I'm losing all the interest. A t-shirt can be couture, but when you present it in the most mediocre way, there is nothing aspirational about it.
Was this collection created with the clients in mind or was it only created to make stunts and dresses for the red carpet? And if it is only for the red carpet, just fold the whole operation up already.

Is this a couture show or an excuse for them to use all of the unsold garments in their warehouse since the law banned them from burning waste.
I can't believe they have Mariacarla and they drowned her whatever the hell that thing is.
And the last wedding dress, no cutting, no sewing just staples, really babe, staples. And apparently, when you order it, 3 couture staff will come and “staple” it together for you on the spot, it only takes 30 minutes to be ready so if you are desperate in need of a couture quickie it is perfect for you.

WWD wrote that this collection is pushing the envelope, it’s pushing something else because this clearly doesn't push couture or fashion forward.

How can you focus on fashion when fashion is the last thing Demna focuses on in this collection.

 

[Alquimista]

Omfg I am dying at her going along with the track at the beginning

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It was hilarious to watch them pretending to not be scared asf when the models walked right beside them

 

[THD96]

Also who is Katy Perry's PR in Paris because Miss Girl has been working overtime this week. Good for her, promote that single girl.

Omfg I am dying at her going along with the track at the beginning

View attachment 1282550

I mean Carine looks like she is about to fall asleep the entire show.

 

[Alquimista]

Jesus, what can I say about this? It feels like beating a dead horse...let me do a long rant about couture in general.

The godforsaken fashion industry should have a better, level headed idea of what couture is. Or at least what couture is not.

The Chambre Syndicale should advise fashion houses that couture is not necessarily about:

Carnival - unless you do an actual carnival costume for your client
Normal clothes but BIGGER - big pants, big sleeves, big dress, big hats
Wildly different from pret a porter
(Literal) Art pieces

None of this should be prescriptive, just statements intended to clear the air and make people have a less mystified vision of couture.

Ok, use the unsold garments and make a hideous dress. Ok, wrap the model with black fabric and make her look like a disheveled football ball. Ok, drown the poor italian model in whatever fabrics you found in your atelier, BUT to do couture, you don't necessarily need to do any of this.

What couture is, according to the Chambre, is clothes done by hand and made-to-measure. That's all right? There other details about the atelier being in Paris, etc.

I just feel like the industry created a mystified notion of what couture is and them they act surprised when a designer do a couture black ball garment. This is the product of the culture that was fostered for decades in the industry. It's your fault.

 

[Frederic01]

The godforsaken fashion industry should have a better, level headed idea of what couture is. Or at least what couture is not.

The Chambre Syndicale should advise fashion houses that couture is not necessarily about:

Carnival - unless you do an actual carnival costume for your client
Normal clothes but BIGGER - big pants, big sleeves, big dress, big hats
Wildly different from pret a porter
(Literal) Art pieces

The Governance Team of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode :

• Bruno Pavlovsky (President)
• Delphine Arnault (Christian Dior)
• Pietro Beccari (Louis Vuitton)
• Francesca Bellettini (Saint Laurent)
• Delphine Bellini (Schiaparelli)
• Riccardo Bellini (Chloé)
• Etienne Bourgois (Agnes b.)
• Cédric Charbit (Balenciaga)
• Anouck Duranteau-Loeper (Isabel Marant)
• Catherine Jacquet (Lemaire)
• Axel Keller (Dries Van Noten)
• Elsa Lanzo (Rick Owens)
• Pierre Mahéo (Officine Générale)
• Séverine Merle (Celine)
• Stefano Rosso (Maison Margiela)
• Guillaume de Seynes (Hermès)
• Sidney Toledano (Givenchy / LVMH Fashion Group)

These people are here to push the commercial aspect of Haute Couture so that they can sell more perfumes and bags. They are not interested in ushering in another "Golden Age" or in elevating the art form whatsoever.

Only someone like Sidney Toledano, given his history, is a person that would be passionate about keeping the prestige and history alive.

I see a lot of industry and business figures on the governance team, but nobody from a museum or a fashion school or any cultural body. Strange, non?