Balenciaga. Spring 2021 - Paris

 

(Images: Balenciaga.  All Credit)

 

 

There is a doomsday fetish detailed by ex-Vetements stalwart Demna Gvasalia, who, after five years with Balenciaga is beginning, beyond its intention, to ring true. Gvasalia debuted for Balenciaga in Spring 2016, once taking the creative reigns of the famed brand name he was fuelled with an urgency, at the time, to rewrite fashion or at least instil a gender neutral setting for Couture, to which the late couturier master Cristóbal Balenciaga would be turning in his grave at the thought.  Yet, like most slogans that have been thrown around in order to chase markets, the rashness of anticipating opportunities will never happen in its actuality.  In fact, in a pre and post pandemic world, a lot of things are being rewritten under a vastly humble banner via nature, without it being conscious, to tone back the over exuberance and our far reaching ambitions. Yet, humans are strange and fashion can manifest a inconsistency at times, more so the designers as they issue future notes to what they perceive a coming trend will be.

Europe is now in its second lockdown or the more appropriately worded term would be quarantine for COVID-19, yes, we can constantly look back at the failings of European and American law makers when they opened up too quickly for Spring/Summer 2020, aware that the virus spreads amongst crowds as the latest death toll is staggering. Hitting Italy and Spain, the epicenter of Europe in its first wave, hard once again.  Obsessively attuned to economic modeling more so than the reality of mass hospitalizations, the weighing up of all clear signals occurred on the back of surging stock markets, that offered one of the most deluded view points one could wish for, yet it was sold on good news or as Gvasalia has revealed with his latest collections “hope”.

I therefore think of Franz Kafka's quote : “From a certain point onward there is no longer any turning back”, so as mentioned I am curious when Gvasalia's fetish-for-a-doomsday stylizations are offering what could be a reprieve, to which his latest collection is trying to represent a opportunistic cue.  Or either Gvasalia is being paradoxical in issuing degrees of affirmatory styles, which overall may represent a confusion in his sentiment.

Like Alessandro Michele of Gucci, Gvasalia has cleverly melded the worn thrift visage into a coherent style, however Michele is offering the more subtle and defined look, while Gvasalia is set within the brooding and over sized monolithic concepts that could be considered avant-garde, yet immersing, in visualization only, as second-hand styles and recycled ensembles. For his latest collection, it shifts between the more gothic inclinations to sports/street wear, but overall Gvasalia's Spring 2021 styles seem sightly off center, as far as being consistent in his portrayed themes. Whilst the exceptionally well crafted and tailored arrays remain intact, maybe the term hope should be replaced by adrift.