Balenciaga: 'Let there be light'
The god of futuristic fashion has spoken: "Let there be light." With his collection Tuesday, Nicolas Ghesquière at Balenciaga propelled himself into a masterly position, in which light, the eerie colors cast on shimmering dresses, and lightness, as in fluidly draped jerseys, made an extraordinary, other-worldly impact.
"Absorbing and reflecting light," Ghesquière said backstage, though those words did not begin to express the melange of inventive materials. They included a jacket that translated the visual appearance of sequins into a woven Japanese textile; Cristobal Balenciaga's hefty jersey transmuted into ultra-light drapes; and ribbons of crin, or horse hair, made into what looked like futuristic fur.
Most astounding of all, an almost colorless show was tinted by technology. So Ghesquière not only used super-light fabrics that will make packing a sparkling cocktail jacket a traveler's dream. He also used light beams to change the register of color as the outfit walked the runway.
Other extraordinary effects were fringing like electrical filaments with the texture of fur; or a knobbly surface created from ribbons, a significant trend since it first appeared at Lanvin.
Although Ghesquière claimed that "architecture and lightness is a challenge," he has succeeded in redrawing the sculptural nobility of Balenciaga to make it credible, cool and even commercial. The designer's signature pants had asymmetric belts in pastel colors (traditionally, not technically, colored). Even a high-tech glitter jacket was paired with a pair of simple, narrow pants, while a square beige suede dress expressed the matte side of the show.
This Balenciaga collection was powerful also in what it omitted: no high-heeled cages of shoes from the designer who reinvented the platform sole as a fetish object. Instead there was stretch hose over booted feet, using the same nude fabric that covered most bared flesh.
Forget the seven male looks, which seemed a tentative intrusion - though they will probably make pants with elastic under the foot the essence of cool. But there will be an instant rush on what every single female model carried: shiny clutch box bags. They were the antithesis of the Balenciaga bags that originally put on the fashion map squishy sacks tricked out with fringe, tassels and hardware.
Above all, at a time when the fashion world, like any other industry, is reeling in the face of the economic meltdown, and when no one in the Western world actually needs another designer outfit, Ghesquière dared to show a powerful and inventive collection. And who dares, wins.
suzy menkes, iht.com
AMAZING!!!!
I think I'm the only one who likes the pants both in men and women I mean come on the one Olga S is wearing is a masterpiece, And the jackets are awesome.
. With Balenciaga, there is an understanding about silhouette and proportion that is specific and unusual, and thus will not be for everyone. But that's why we have options 
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