Balenciaga Pre-Fall 2023 Paris

[vogue28]

VOGUE.COM

 

[LadyJunon]

So no cruise show, I guess...

 

[perhydrol]

This collection is like an embodiment of the word 'whatever'. The sales of Balenciaga have been plummeting for months now and it directly impacts Kering, which has also been in a major crisis. And yet, here we have a pre-fall offering, or rather a regurgitation of everything Demna has done at the house so far. They really need to get rid of him as soon as Gucci is back on track, otherwise the damage will drag the whole group down.

 

[LostInNJ]

This collection is like an embodiment of the word 'whatever'. The sales of Balenciaga have been plummeting for months now and it directly impacts Kering, which has also been in a major crisis. And yet, here we have a pre-fall offering, or rather a regurgitation of everything Demna has done at the house so far. They really need to get rid of him as soon as Gucci is back on track, otherwise the damage will drag the whole group down.

Asking, because I genuinely do not know, but are the declining sales in response to the scandal or had they been really bad prior to the scandal happening?

I ask, only because I keep reading conflicting reports about the sales of the brand on TFS. In one instance, it says everything is steady or dipped for a moment but was unaffected in certain markets entirely.

 

[perhydrol]

Asking, because I genuinely do not know, but are the declining sales in response to the scandal or had they been really bad prior to the scandal happening?

I ask, only because I keep reading conflicting reports about the sales of the brand on TFS. In one instance, it says everything is steady or dipped for a moment but was unaffected in certain markets entirely.

With Kering, it's quite hard to judge, as they don't break the numbers for their 'other houses' division. According to the latest report, the sales of that branch fell by -9% in the Q1 of 2023, even if there is some alleged positive trend at Balenciaga. I believe it could be said that even if some markets remained unaffected, some really dragged the sales down. I also think this drop at Balenciaga started before the whole drama, and at that point it just got accelerated, but it's just me guessing here.

 

[IloveDiorHomme]

Some womenswear looks are kinda good : dark /sleek with a goth edge. As usual the shoes are good and save the whole lookbook.
Nothing new or very innovative but there is a certain appeal. The « fitting room » concept is great, it would have been better to cast real regular Balenciaga customers.


Menswear is dreadful…

 

[LadyJunon]

Some womenswear looks are kinda good : dark /sleek with a goth edge. As usual the shoes are good and save the whole lookbook.
Nothing new or very innovative but there is a certain appeal. The « fitting room » concept is great, it would have been better to cast real regular Balenciaga customers.


Menswear is dreadful…

That's how it is with Demna's Balenciaga.

The womenswear, which is actually quite good most of the time, appears to have some intelligence behind their conception and creation. I dare say that Demna is one of the best womenswear designers of his generation.

Unfortunately, it's always doomed to get outshined by the uglier, louder brute that is his menswear.

Joining the collections together back in 2018 made it harder to enjoy his work as I got sick and tired of having to ignore upwards of 40% of a show to enjoy it.

 

[Lola701]

Demna had the opportunity to shift the conversation with all the attention his FW2023 collection had. Everybody expected a real drastic shift like the great designers used to do…Unfortunately, it never came and so I feel like everything they are going to release will have an anti-climatic response.

I feel like there’s a need for glamour, for beauty and practicality. The undertone irony is done.
Everything feels done…

 

[LadyJunon]

Demna had the opportunity to shift the conversation with all the attention his FW2023 collection had. Everybody expected a real drastic shift like the great designers used to do…Unfortunately, it never came and so I feel like everything they are going to release will have an anti-climatic response.

I feel like there’s a need for glamour, for beauty and practicality. The undertone irony is done.
Everything feels done…

It's very much a shame considering that all the ingredients for that creative shift were there:
• the aging clientele (Demna's and his circle are approaching their 40s)
• the Couture line
• the scandal
• Michele's firing and the rise of brands like Bottega Veneta and Courrèges

 

[WAVES]

it’s the perfect set to show his collections, especially Cruise or Pre-whatever IF it was something fresh and new or at least a step forward from his previous designs.
it all looks the same and it’s obviously like with any other repetitive designer, boring.

Balenciaga is much more than this post-URSS 90’s ‘beast of the East’ dark vibe.

maybe this is all he can do. he can go back exclusively to Vetements and we can give this opportunity to someone else.

 

[jeanclaude]

The real irony is that, after all that happened at Balenciaga, they still insist in launching the same trash over and over.

 

[jeanclaude]

maybe this is all he can do.

He is totally flat as a designer. He has the same fixated ideas (copied from Margiela); and he is unable to go outside the box he has created by his own.

 

[Norden]

This look is so intensely over, i see losers on the street wearing it. Interesting people have moved on. To wear this is similar to wearing Philip plein, actually there’s an overlap of clientele.

like Lola said, he had an opportunity to shift the entire conversation, and he squandered it. That’s the true miss step of his career.
Potential wasted.

 

[Nomar]

At this point I’m more interested in the presentations than the actual clothes themselves lol.

 

[bc collector]

At this point I’m more interested in the presentations than the actual clothes themselves lol.

Honey, everybody is. Including Demna.

 

[Deleted member 7575]

It just feels outdated and boring.

The moment is over.

NEXT

 

[fenty]

one trick pony.

 

[yslforever]

They look dressed for the funeral of Demna's career and possibly the brand's one too, in a muddy cemetery, under heavy rain.

 

[LadyJunon]

They look dressed for the funeral of Demna's career and possibly the brand's one too, in a muddy cemetery, under heavy rain.

As BFRND plays in the background.

 

[Deleted member 7575]

Demna had the opportunity to shift the conversation with all the attention his FW2023 collection had. Everybody expected a real drastic shift like the great designers used to do…Unfortunately, it never came and so I feel like everything they are going to release will have an anti-climatic response.

I feel like there’s a need for glamour, for beauty and practicality. The undertone irony is done.
Everything feels done…

...TO DEATH!