Trailer of the new Disney+ TV series Cristóbal Balenciaga It is a celebration of mid-century elegance. The miniseries tells the story of the Spanish designer and fashion innovator, revered for his dress designs of the 1950s and 60s. Her story deserves to be known as much as that of Coco Chanel or Hubert de Givenchy. But this rags-to-riches story couldn’t be further from the home of Balenciaga, arguably the most controversial major fashion house today.
Cristóbal ended its brand in the 1960s but was revived in the 1990s.
Under current creative director Demna Gvasalia (who goes by his first name) since 2015, the current iteration of Balenciaga has pioneered a thoroughly modern fashion idea: overdressing.
Some of Balenciaga’s biggest hits include a towel that doubles as a skirt, priced at £695. There were also deliberately dirty trainers, a mud-covered catwalk, a collection modeled by the Simpsons and a bag that looked like Ikea’s £3.99 Frakta but cost £1,790. All of this caused outrage, went viral, and created a massive sell-out.
But sometimes this tendency to provoke goes too far. The brand came under fire late last year and eventually apologized for an ad campaign that depicted children in bondage gear holding teddy bears and featured legal documents regarding child sexual abuse.
In March 2023, for his first collection since that scandal, Demna appeared to have turned over a new leaf, saying he would no longer design “button-pushing” collections. But last month, Balenciaga staged a show in Los Angeles designed to satirize the “green juice and yoga” stereotype of city dwellers. Next level was the stunt dressing. Models wore tights and used their phones as they walked the runway in front of the Hollywood sign. There was even a collaboration with Erewhon, the cult grocery store in Los Angeles frequented by celebrities like Hailey Bieber and famous for its $22 smoothies.
Balenciaga thus became one of the most influential fashion houses on young generations. Nina Maria, who writes about fashion in publications including 1Granary, created by Central Saint Martins students. “Balenciaga has the kind of audience that will buy towel skirts,” says She. If Chanel did this I don’t think anyone would buy it… Demna knows how to design social media. “It’s just a matter of time.”
Of course, this isn’t the only brand using the viral effect to gain publicity and attention. But Demna’s work showed a way forward, showing how fashion in the digital age has shifted from an industry primarily concerned with cut and silhouette to focusing on clothes that reference memes in digital culture.
This can come from designs inspired by something on social media — like the “clap” t-shirt that responds to a negative online comment, fashion bean Vaquera’s recent t-shirt that read “suggestive dress” — or it can come from designs that aim to become a trend, topic, or meme bride. Examples of this in 2023 include the oversized MSCHF Big Yellow Boots released in June or Schiaparelli’s animal head dresses worn by Kylie Jenner in January.
Denma was hired by Balenciaga in 2015 after his first year at Vetements, which he founded with his brother Guram. The company became famous for launching a best-selling DHL t-shirt worth £185 on the catwalk; This was a moment that probably started the trend of acrobatic dressing. . Maria says her satirical approach to popular culture stems from her upbringing in post-Soviet Georgia, which gave her an outsider’s perspective: “The last show in Los Angeles offended most Americans because it made fun of the United States. But for him, America is a strange culture and loves to provoke.”
While Demma’s perspective may seem like the opposite of the rarefied world of Cristóbal Balenciaga, there are parallels. The founder of the house was also a bit of a foreigner. As the Disney+ series will show, Cristóbal came to Paris in 1937 after the Spanish civil war meant he had to close his stores in his home country. Gaining clients such as Audrey Hepburn and Ava Gardner, he competed with and was idolized by French giants Christian Dior and Coco Chanel: Dior called him “the master of us all”. He was also a radical; Her deliberately shapeless “sack” dress from 1957 was controversial in the 1950s.
Cassie Davies-Strodder, who curated the Shaping Fashion: Balenciaga exhibition at the V&A Museum in 2017, argues that the founder will appreciate the brand’s work in 2023. [their aesthetic] “For decades, Balenciaga has made a point of pushing boundaries and keeping up with the times,” he says. “In this regard, I am sure that he will admire the work of the current house, how it captures the spirit of the times and leads fashion once again.”
But Demna’s impactful show outfit may have a bit of a shelf life. Fashion critic Odunayo Ojo, known as Fashion Roadman on YouTube, recently asked ‘Should Demna leave Balenciaga?’ He published a video titled. ‘Are you out of ideas?’, she discusses the LA show. Does he think Demna’s influence is waning? “Right now? No. If he keeps doing the same thing, I think it will definitely work.”
Ojo details that there has been a shift online in response to Balenciaga’s new collections. “I’ve seen it go from everyone going, ‘Oh my God, this is so funny,’ to some people saying, ‘Okay, this is getting a little stagnant.’ “And now I think maybe 60% of people are saying it’s stagnating.”
Davies-Strodder hopes the Disney+ TV series will bring one of fashion’s biggest names to the attention of a new generation. He says Cristóbal’s work has influenced current designers from Molly Goddard to Iris Van Herpen, but he recalls the difficulties surrounding the meaning of Balenciaga design in the lead-up to the V&A exhibition. “Especially among young fashionistas, the name was associated with trainers rather than couture craftsmanship, which I think might underline the TV show [Cristóbal’s] remains relevant today, both for its compelling character and its skill and continuing influence.