Balenciaga Fall 2022 Show – WWD

Most fashion designers claim a formative decade, and it was the 1990s for Demna, formerly known by her full name Demna Gvasalia.

In those days, Demna lived in Soviet-era Georgia, wishing she had better friends, watching movies on VHS and occasionally turning damaged tapes into wigs or fringe dresses. The latest stylistic ideas of the time – deconstruction, minimalism and counter-fashion – among them were right up his alley and they are still indispensable in the vocabulary of the time. his page today.

Meanwhile, that decade at Balenciaga is still “blur” for most, one wrong Demna right with director Harmony Korine’s glamorous fall 2022 fashion film, dubbed ” The Lost Tape” and evoke what a Balenciaga The show might have been like any other day had it been done by Demna.

The designer said he dreamed of the nostalgic movie idea when he noticed that his fall 2022 collection possessed many imprints of the rave and post-grunge eras.

“The real message here is that it can look exactly like a collection in the ’90s – so how much has fashion really changed in terms of aesthetics from decade to decade? It’s just a question,” he replied, although it was as rhetorical as “Does Demna like black? ”

The designer has a knack for unexpected turns. After the parade Balenciaga’s first couture collection in 53 years in July, Astonishing in the perfection of the cut and build, Demna showed up at a black tie dinner a few hours later in a tattered cap and a black coat that was so oversized it looked as if it were was run over by a lawn mower.

The lo-fi invite for fall 2022, a VHS cassette labeled with a black marker, is worlds apart from the sleek Oculus VR headset sent to Balenciaga’s video game show in 2014. last time, and from the recent conversation about it going further into the metaverse line after da launched on Fortnite in September.

“I needed something a little more grounded, looking back at where fashion comes from,” says Demna, likening the videotape to a piece of art, even though it serves no purpose, says Demna. but it elicits an emotional response. “And that’s something that we really need to hold onto.”

To be sure, Demna is a hands-on designer steeped in the gospel of deconstruction, which involves working with actual garments. His fall gifts include classic dresses that come disassembled and put back together, and 5-pocket jeans that can be split into three pieces and worn as a mini skirt, trousers or extreme thigh-high boots. big.

His inimitable mourning jackets are back, but so are the bell parkas, now available with neck pillows; faux fur with a protruding collar; Stretch tweed skirts that can be worn as sweaters, and low-waisted trousers for guys with a flared logo waistband.

Korine’s grainy shot is perfect at capturing the raw energy – and unusual hairstyle – of the 1990s, interspersing footage on the runway with behind-the-scenes shots of masked people smoking and smoking. drinking, and the likes of Esther Cañadas, Isabelle Huppert and Suzanne Bartsch had their way into the show by the paparazzi.

Even when faded, the collection is emotional and very current, with enticing new versions of Demna’s frankenstein shoulder coat, pleated skirts with dramatic sleeves and seams. asymmetrical, and elegantly flared or waisted leather jackets.

Further emphasizing the idea that fashion never changes, Naomi Campbell was the last to arrive at this futuristic runway event, causing the biggest uproar and looking just as stunning as she does now.