Balenciaga have unveiled their Spring 2024 collection and after a very disappointing show at Paris Fashion Week, they needed a win. It’s almost impossible now to think of Balenciaga without the controversy and while the PFW show could be read as a response to that, it’s still clear that the brand is still responding to it.
The Spring 2024 collection won’t ruffle any feathers and that may be exactly the point. However, that isn’t to say that it is a bad collection. It’s quite good and may even be playing into the larger quiet luxury trend. The collection leans heavily on timeless essentials and seasonal ready-to-wear pieces.
“Capital B” was presented as a digital fashion show filmed as a time-lapse at the iconic address, 10 avenue George V in Paris. It was a gimmick free show with a few notable exceptions, primarily the skirts fashioned from towels and the shrunken hoodies.
Creative director, Demna, has focused on craftsmanship and the history of the House. The 5-minute short film, directed by Spanish artist Mau Morgó, shows familiar Balenciaga models and muses running out of the iconic building onto the street while others appear to be going about their day-to-day lives complete with skateboards and dog walkers.
What does this say about Balenciaga? That Paris and Balenciaga are intertwined in such a way as to embody each other.
Per the brand, “The result is an observation of metropolitan motion, fusing Balenciaga’s nexus with the pulse of real life in real-time.”
What can be said about this collection other than that it’s very Balenciaga? The silhouettes, the prevalence of black, it’s all traditional Balenciaga and it works.
While there are few risks taken, there are some playful elements present in the show. The Biker Boot we saw in the Winter 2023 collection has been developed into a complete pantashoe with thick leather and layers of panelling from the waist to toe. Balenciaga described the pantashoe as “combining enhanced manoeuvrability with a gloss of demi-couture.”
Other than that, women had long, refined black velvet dresses, dresses embroidered with sequins and silver fringes, and a crimson dress with pleats made from technical crepe fabric.
The men got half tartan, half quilted coats in rare wool, black trench coats, some double denim, and the “Towel Skirt.”
Not the most exciting show but certainly very chic.
