Excerpt: Balenciaga. Pre-Fall 2025 - Paris

 

"...Demna has, in a lot of ways, obsessively questioned American consumerism and exceptionalism within his Balenciaga statements, although at times they have been contradictory, the gist of Demna's backlash has been pricing out consumption, which was the postmodern art technique first instigated Forty years ago by the 'Italian art Radicals', such as Archizoom and Superstudio.  The idea, create one off uber-garish art pieces and sculptures and price them out of reach of everyone.  But, the question remains of Demna's motives, which I have asked many times with my past Balenciaga reviews; Would you pay over $1,600 USD (inflation adjusted) for a pair of 'destroyed' Balenciaga sneakers?  Clearly, business will always be business, despite Demna's artistic intentions.

For Demna's Pre-Fall 2025 lookbook for Balenciaga, he has kept the collection raw and as unstructured without it becoming an overtly Avant-garde exposé, with drapey wraparound scarves, and those Balenciaga/Vetements oversized, exaggerated shoulder pad looks.  Be it, Demna's reworking of streetwear, now over ten years old, influenced by the underground Eastern European rave scenes of the early 1990s, to which the attendees weren't as slick looking compared to their Western counterparts, continues to be the Balenciaga hallmark.  In its charm of the slightly worn and disheveled styles, with his troupe of bedraggled looking models.  Demna's paradox marches on, with or without being bankrolled by Kering, although it obviously helps, is his collaboration with Italian sports car company (have you heard of them?  Sarc.) Lamborghini, with a limited run of only 630 'Lamborghini Temerario' t-shirts worldwide, which portrays their 2nd hybrid car.  And Scholls, the orthotic foot care company that has been around for a 100 years (no sarc, true!), be it the Balenciaga x Scholl's sandal/heeled hybrid shoe and the odd looking "zero sandals"..."

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Full review:  chiasmusmagazine.blogspot.com/2025/02/balenciaga-pre-fall-2025-paris.html

(A.Glass 2025)