Balenciaga S/S 2022 Paris

[JohannesL]

The best looks are the archive ones as usual, and the rest are so redundant and repetitive that we don't need in 2021!

 

[Norden]

The collection itself is standard balenciaga. I don’t mind it to be honest. What I like is that demna is starting to play with pop culture. It’s been a while since a designer became critically invested in it. I think it’s fun.

 

[vogue28]

VOGUE.COM

 

[vogue28]

VOGUE.COM

 

[vogue28]

VOGUE.COM

 

[Lola701]

The video was fabulous! It’s really great and apparently everybody was there!
I received messages and it was quite funny.

The collection however is the same boring thing. There’s nothing to comment. The video was a marketing genius tactic to sell the same clothes…
Maybe that’s Kering’s idea of sustainability.

When I saw from the teasers that the collection was about red carpet, I was kind of excited. I still have memories of the Chanel red carpet collection…A great collection and a fun/chaotic fashion moment.

Let’s say that here we have the fun/chaotic moments without the fashion. But does it matter? As long as Made in China Triple S sneakers sells, the it’s business as usual.

God, those clothes and accessories will age terribly. Much like anything Balenciaga post Cristobal and pre-Ghesquiere.

 

[bc collector]

Balenciaga really seems to be on a mission to cater to rich/spoilt teens/pre-teen kids who have no idea whatsoever of what Balenciaga once stood for. It's not that I ignore how fashion has always courted the young but this seems to me a whole new level in the chase for an ever expanding audience.
This relentless titillation of the most puerile, infantile taste is something that never stops to astound me, even more that the revolting cynicism behind it.

As for the collection itself, Demna has quickly burnt the little credibility he had regained with his couture show.

 

[dontbeadrag]

I feel strange, I am not necessarily liking this, but it does make me think - are we all here simply too stuck in the past or our expectations are too high, or is modern fashion that bad? As more people around love it, here the most loved brands get rejected. I am almost becoming self-conscious at this point - what if the general taste elevated and I am simply behind? If all of this makes sense.

The collection is so typical, nothing to say at all.

 

[bc collector]

I feel strange, I am not necessarily liking this, but it does make me think - are we all here simply too stuck in the past or our expectations are too high, or is modern fashion that bad? As more people around love it, here the most loved brands get rejected. I am almost becoming self-conscious at this point - what if the general taste elevated and I am simply behind? If all of this makes sense.

I have a feeling many share the same impression here, without having necessarily voiced it.
The average level has undoubtedly gone down, along with the expansion to an audience that often has no cultural or psychological means to assess what they are proposed but is only motivated by FOMO. I think also that this just had to be expected with the rise of corporate/profit culture and the overall subjugation of free creativity to marketing needs: or, to be more specific, to the complete dominance of marketing in all aspects of the cultural industry, which fashion is part of. Horyn recently expressed the same idea when she wrote that much of contemporary fashion feels like a beautifully wrapped dress box with an OK t-shirt inside.
It does not help that some here are old enough to have witnessed the original work of Margiela, Lang and later Ghesquiere and McQueen, who really set the bar high for those who came after. That was the last crop of independent thinkers who had a chance to express their ideas without worrying too much about what the millennials thought of them.

 

[anlabe32]

For the most part, this isn't fashion. It's embarrasing.

 

[gossiping]

pure marketing..all i ever see anyone on the street wearing is the ridiculous logo stuff. simpsons was cool though.

 

[perfect blue]

I'm curious if anyone else has listened to the BoF podcast with Demna. It's very rare that he gives audio or video interviews. I can count on just my 10 fingers the number of videos with him speaking on YouTube. I always appreciate his interviews even if I find that his concepts on paper don't match my expectations when executed.

 

[Fulton St Critique]

What I enjoy most is the dimensional aspect of the clothing. Whereas I perceived JA’s Loewe to be a poor indicator of fit and flattery, Demna’s constant play on shape- even if done over and over again- is exciting and organically charged in my opinion. For me these aren’t clothes for wearing, rather they are for exploring how line and function can interlock as one heading into the future. I would love to try on his suits here, I wonder how they feel on the body. From the outside I am not sure I could handle such an oversized fit, but I am sure the tailoring begs to differ.

The oversized, baggy distressed jeans must go. I contemplate their necessity in the present. It appears it is more for show than for anything else. They are not stylish and so extra (not in a good way). Him and Hedi must do away with this style. I don’t care how cool they were in the 90s, we are in a much different era.

 

[CholoChic]

They got nervous with so bad collection and someone said lets make a Simpson to get noticed!

 

[HelgaZ]

Demna only wants to be famous.
He is not interested in being a fashion designer at all. He does not care about Balenciaga either.

I think he don't give a f*uck about Cristobal Balenciaga's heritage (sorry), these clothes is just ugly ( I mean, everything that Demna have don't), it's disgusting and there is no ideas, beauty or class at all. Just disgusting.

 

[mepps]

As the great MC Lyte once said, "I cram to understand", how anyone could possibly love this dire collection.
I'm not a Demma fan at all, and think everything he does is butt ugly, but people love big vulgar logos, so I get his success in that regard.
I will never understand the decision to give him creative control of Balenciaga, but I also believe that labels should close, when founders die,
unless you're reissuing archival pieces in perpetuity.

 

[Olaffo]

Demma should take over Chanel as soon as possible.

 

[FashionMuseDior]

I will never understand the decision to give him creative control of Balenciaga, but I also believe that labels should close, when founders die,
unless you're reissuing archival pieces in perpetuity.

This is a type of thinking that I will never understand...but to each his own I guess. Balenciaga is a name worldwide known to the masses, not taking advantage of that with a new CD to keep that name and its legacy alive is in my opinion not bright nor very business-driven at all. Whether that CD and their team mantain such legacy that's a whole 'nother story, but at the end of the day fashion is a business and will always be.

I'm not a fan of Demna nor his designs which would never find a place in my wardrobe There are some cute jackets here and there but nothing that grabs my attention. I'll pass.

 

[MulletProof]

This is a type of thinking that I will never understand...

It only sounds abstract if we just focus on the era of fashion we have experienced, where the designer is hardly a creator and mostly showman with the ability to morph, when needed, into a through and through businessman. It wasn't always like this. They were treated as artists at best, and as excellent, innovative tailors for the most part. If you juxtapose it with other fields with other creative people, like.. I don't know, art, you'll see a foundation remains to promote the legacy of a painter or sculptor, but you definitely won't see a debate of 'ugh, it's so important someone keeps painting and signing as Robert Rauschenberg! his work NEEDS to continue'. In more practical fields similar to fashion, like architecture, you also won't see 'John Johnson for Frank Gehry'.

Maybe the only field where the amount of profit you could still make would be so high and irresistible that the show must go on with or without the artist is music, but even that industry, often so dirty, keeps some principles and refrains.. but imagine how truly shitty that would be, if a bunch of nameless, questionably talented guys that are able to get hired and perform under the name 'The Beatles' 'Stone Roses' 'Pink Floyd' are the ones still selling out arenas, topping the charts, monopolizing media outlets and winning all the awards... it would get so vicious you would not just have to really struggle to find new music, at some point it would feel like there is no choice but to pick among these people pushed down your throat by music labels, and any new band would come off as a 'loser' that hasn't quite yet made it until they're able to finally get hired by The Beatles and play again and again these good ol' hits that your grandparents danced to. It would be insanity.

This oversensitivity some feel towards these old fashion houses like 'but it's legacy!' 'it's a part of our culture!' 'what would we do without it!'.. well exactly, what would someone do without the umbrella of some deceased person's parameters? anything. Plus how insecure and lacking in faith the perception of a city's arts/creativity must be to doubt anything that is new and hold on for dear life to the 5 ateliers that once made something great for a generation that is now largely death.

 

[WAVES]

the video was great and one the smartest marketing ideas ever (fashion wise)! also, this gimmicky ‘Red Carpet’ theme too!!! if only the clothes were to match it…

this said, there are a couple of nice looks or pieces but that’s really it. nothing new.

Demma should take over Chanel as soon as possible.

Jesus Christ, NON!