Balenciaga S/S 2020 Paris

[RedSmokeRise]

I’m just annoyed by it all

 

[dfl-001]

It's like a parody. I do like the pleated long coats and how dehydrated and depressed everyone looks.
Side note; why do only a couple of the models have that weird cheekbone enhancement?

 

[Melancholybaby]

Side note; why do only a couple of the models have that weird cheekbone enhancement?

I think it's his way of commenting on instagram cheek/lip fillers? Some models had fake lips too.

gorunway

 

[YohjiAddict]

dfl-001 beat me to it. It's like the a parody of everything that's tiring and awful in his work: hunchback puffers, wire hanger shoulders, skintight velvet, etc. Lola and I share a similar sentiment of wanting to like his work, based on that first show for this brand, but ending up dissapointed at just how undesirable and pretentious his clothes end up looking. This show was just as empty as Gucci was in Milan, more played out if that's even possible and missing the point altogether.

 

[Fiercification]

His Balenciaga is inoffensive; each show has a couple of strong editorial looks, like last season's oversized red coat, which was more memorable than pretty much any other look from the F/W season. In fact last season was kind of solid overall.

This is back to blah for me. Again, a few decent pieces but overall it's boring and he's got nothing to add to his Balenciaga vision anymore. Next...

 

[StoneSkipper]

This collection feels like a comedian telling a bland joke, getting nothing from the audience, and repeating the joke over and over and over again, in the desperate hope to ellicit a tiny chuckle from someone, not realizing that the problem isn't the audience, but the material. It's exactly what brought Vetements down, and I hope he can snap out of it before Balenciaga falls, too.

 

[popstylist]

I’ll give it the best of Paris so far. Here’s for everyone who don’t know the inspiration.

 

[blackcherrified]

It's exactly what brought Vetements down, and I hope he can snap out of it before Balenciaga falls, too.

Oh wells... as long as the PRC Chinese are still blindly following their local, sponsored KOLs and crazily buying those unoriginal Fred Perry-inspired ‘Balenciaga’ insignia T-shirts, fugly Triple-S sneakers (sorry not sorry LV Archlights are wayyy better in terms of design) and those ‘paper bags’ in leather (Chanel did it first), Balenciaga would not fall anytime soon...

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

(Don’t call me racist ‘cuz I am ethnically Chinese and East Asian too, just not from the PRC )

 

[jeanclaude]

I’ll give it the best of Paris so far. Here’s for everyone who don’t know the inspiration.

View attachment 1127587

On paper it seems interesting. But in reality is a mess.

 

[Norden]

I really don't mind this at all. As a show it really works, but the strength is definitely very uneven. A tighter edit and tighter silhouettes would be beneficial here, some of it just flutters to randomly.

There is a certain 2Dness that his clothes have, they're almost low poly, very under detailed. which is kind of an issue in stores, some of it looks so cheap, its almost cynical. But when it works, it really works well. I find that of all designers who push new shapes, he does it the most effectively.

 

[Nomar]

What another amazing runway, so clever as well because the blue really makes everything pop. I love the tailoring here, especially the menswear, if I was taller then I would be all over it. Some of the oversized silhouettes also reminded me of vintage CDG which I adore.

 

[TaylorBinque]

the problem for me is that while he finds archive to be inspired, his collections always feel like it lacks focus. He keeps putting out stuff that he had done before. Like those plisse floral dresses or the puffy jacket. Enough of that please. The ballgowns are interesting but the execution left me to be more desired. As much as everyone is trying to champion how innovative and close to Cristobal work is, Cristobal original work really understood the women's body and the clothes are as luxurious as it can be, even it's just a black babydoll. I've visited Balenciaga stores often, and these clothes are just okay.

 

[gossiping]

i laughed at some of the menswear

this isn't my thing, just like gucci, never will be

 

[Benn98]

I'm somewhat of a supporter of his menswear, but I've found that with each season there are fewer and fewer looks I'd like. This time, maybe only the motorcycle trousers. Everything is too....generic. And I don't get the point because he's been doing this for some time now. Unfortunately for him, this is not Gucci.

 

[GivenchyHomme]

There really isn't much to say. It's the same old same old. With that being said, does this even need a show?

 

[dior_couture1245]

You know....it’s this particular, kitschy strain of his aesthetic that really tests my patience and is so mean spirited.

But looking back at his work for the house so far, some of his earlier pre-collections were actually SUPER chic. I’m thinking in particular Pre-Fall ‘16 and ‘17.

If he could kind of bring back clothes more like that - get rid of all the jokey logos, get rid of the stupid prints - it would be much better.

And if he could think differently about his shows, it would really help his clothes feel more connected to Balenciaga. I can imagine one of those pre-collections being shown in a catwalk show in a beautiful Parisian salon...just something to counter balance his more street aesthetic with something like that that would acknowledge the very couture heritage of the house.

 

[Phuel]

^^^ Mean-spirited is absolutely how I feel when bluechip labels throw these farcical looks up on their runways that resemble how the down-and-out still dress in RL, just for lulz from the fashion sheep. Whether as a joke here at Balenciaga— or even when dead serious at Raf’s menswear resembling how homeless kidz dress— it all comes off so tone-deaf, since there are people that still dress this way, not as a fashion statement— but simply because fashion is the last thing on their minds and these are the clothes they live in. This is far from provocative creativity or a challenging vision. It's just mocking.

This presentation is predictably dumb and dull lazily disguised as irony. And Demna’s a much more talented designer and creative man than these gimmicky/trolling/ironic showings that he’s trapped himself into recently, both at Balenciaga and Vetements. (Clever of him to kill off the latter before the sheep completely abandon that label for the next hot mess.)

The first Balenciaga collections for women, and especially men, were really solid, along with his presentation of a new and severe aesthetic in his casting and photographic style to go along with the designs. It was impressive branding. Then he sold out to the gimmicks— since that was what the fashion sheep zeroed in on and were coveting from him. But those early collections really defined a new style and aesthetic. Now it’s become let’s-see-how-far-I-can-get-away-with-trolling-the-fashion-victimz… And the joke isn’t funny anymore for anyone with a remotely functioning brain.