Weird right? But they can’t be fully invited yet…
I guess they are testing the water with this one. If it’s successful, maybe they will invest in a real Couture operation.
Exactly. Setting up the operations for Couture is a
massive investment and one that, realistically, only Chanel and Dior can afford, primarily due to both of those houses generating so much money from perfume, which allows them to be financially "wasteful" in other areas, ie. Haute Couture.
To me it seems more like a publicity and marketing initiative to add / restore some prestige to the brand. There will be tons of press and industry people at the show, but how about real couture clients? How, for example, are they going to build that client base? Out of their existing ready-to-wear market? I'm laughing at the thought.
I'm sorry but I don't see this succeeding in the long term. Balenciaga, as a company and as a concept, the way that it is structured and marketed under Demna, cannot compete with Chanel, Dior, and even Valentino. These brands worked for
decades to build up their couture operations; the seamstresses, the
vendeuses and
directrices have literally been there since the beginning, developing and growing their clientele, nurturing the business, riding out multiple designers in some cases. Balenciaga is about 10 or even 20 years too late on the Haute Couture train. They had an opportunity with Nicolas to establish a base for this kind of project, but they missed it.
I am looking forward to watch his film. I just hope it does not get very artsy to the point the clothes cannot be seen.
