From the Chiasmus archive: "Balenciaga. Spring 2022 Ready-for-Wear" Posted on June 7, 2021
(Images: Balenciaga 2021)
From Demna Gvasalia’s computer game immersion that was Balencaiga’s Fall 2021 collection to the digitally enhanced global trip for the Pre-Fall 2022 collection, the talented Georgian designer has returned with what he has deemed as a “deep fake fashion show”. Continuing on with his virtual reality themes of defining reality or more so a Balenciaga hyper-reality, as portrayed with his collection in a post Covid-19 world, the global pandemic has definitely made designers become more creative in displaying their seasonal collections. As the traditional fashion show maintains an elusiveness for 2021, albeit for the small and select audiences, until the pandemic in Europe and America is completely abated and the viral mutations stay at bay. The glitz and glamour of full blown fashion weeks remains all but a memory. Why not create, like Demna has devised with his latest offering, a simulated runway show?
Demna’s dark exordium in his portrayal of the Balenciaga brand name has certainly made an impact, more so with sales, although Balenciaga is considered one of the “other houses” under the parent company Kering, with Gucci being the main earner for the conglomerate. Alessandro Michele of Gucci has, in his words, decided to fuse elements of Balenciaga into his own collections, saying, “Gucci becomes for me a hacking lab, made of incursions and metamorphoses…I have plundered the nonconformist rigor of Demna Gvasalia and the sexual tension of Tom Ford.” And Demna for his Spring 2022 showing, with these collaborative crossovers occurring from both fashion houses, has returned in kind, with his own reworking of the luxury fashion collaboration that is becoming more of a spectacle in refining an exclusive collectable piece from the Gucci x Balenciaga synergic, rather than any so called “hack”. Yet, Demna’s hyper-real show piece might have the upper hand over Michele’s Gucci, in its sardonic and in someways subtle dig at fashion designers that, shall we say, tow the line under their creative mandates. By having the runway model walking with a “Gucci” designed bag with the Gucci’s iconic “GG” removed and replaced with the Balenciaga “BB” symbol. Maybe seen as a play on the said brand names and of the many counterfeit products that line the backstreets of Shanghai. Or could it be simply a competitive poke at a fellow designer? If there is a focus on the relevance of high end labelling and how it manifests overall in its market place, this sociological discussion and what could be perceived as in joke via Demna’s simulated and Deep Fake runway show will certainly be lost by the exclusiveness of those brand names.
Still, Demna’s Balenciaga like his brother Guram of Vetements have both been able, paradoxically, to deconstruct fashion whilst at the same time, in a constructive manner, creating their own niche within the luxury market. And it is this distinctness of the Gvasalia brothers which, in my opinion, have set an overall precedence in the fashion industry. With Demna morphing these illusory aspects of the digital world in his visualization, while questioning our dependency for that instant ego gratification from the digital relays. Neither offering a right or wrong perspective. He has been able to craft some of the most distinct and original styles for Balenciaga.
His latest collection is set within a runway and audience that doesn’t exist, in collaboration with computer artist Quentin Deronzier who, by deploying an Augmentative Reality cloning technique ala what is known as “Deep Fake”, he has fused Demna’s muse Eliza Douglas onto both the men’s and women’s bodies for the all 44 pieces displayed. Titled “Balenciaga Clones” it is probably a prelude to Demna’s debut couture show due July 2021, which will be, ironically, in lieu of this collection, in front of a real audience. With some very well crafted dresses for the opening and closing of the collection, the overall styles criss-cross back and forth from the street smart of Demna’s Vetement/Balaneciga looks, through to the Gucci knock off styles, even with what appears to be a Burberry coat ‘hack’, although obviously not sanctioned by Kering. The middle part of the collection in all of its gimmickry feels rushed and not as thought out as previous seasons, with the first and last styles of the Spring array showcasing Demna’s couturier styles. However, unfortunately his latest showing does fall short of delivering what could have been a interesting theme of virtual realities and what is real in a surreal world.
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