Undeniably, the FW22 fashion show presented by BALENCIAGA led by Demna this season is definitely one of the most unforgettable presentations of this season’s Paris Fashion Week.
From the invitation with the old iPhone 6 before the launch, without implying any content, to leading all the audience present and watching the live broadcast through the snow, and hearing Demna himself recall childhood memories again, the entire presentation can be said to have broken away from the BALENCIAGA that everyone has known in recent seasons.
In the collection, up to nearly 70 looks feature black asymmetrical dresses, hoodies, turtlenecks, and various outerwear designs, such as leather jackets made from Balenciaga’s innovative mycelium-derived leather EPHEA, as well as quilted jackets, bomber jackets, zip-up jackets, and more; one top is made from a pair of jeans, while another detachable T-shirt with the brand logo hangs at the bottom of a hoodie, serving as both a layering piece and an accessory. Of course, there are also various statement bags: the soft boxy Crush bag, the Swing handbag made up of multiple layers of panels, shoulder bags transformed from Cagole or Rodeo boots, and the Trash tote bag inspired by everyday garbage bags.
However, what is more interesting this season is the post-show comments and reviews, which surprisingly did not focus on the new season designs brought by Demna; the reason is not that fashion enthusiasts find it boring, but rather, Demna is trying to shift the focus to where he values more – the fashion show. What is special about this season’s fashion show? What highlights and phenomena are worth delving into, or revisiting? ZTYLEZ MAN has compiled the 8 major highlights of BALENCIAGA’s fashion show this season, as follows:
No more time-traveling, this season directly reflects the real world
Before the opening, the fashion show called 360° Show used a broken iPhone 6 and an old version of the iPhone layout for the invitation design, displaying Apple’s default outer space Earth viewpoint image – if you have paid attention to Balenciaga fashion shows or releases in the past, you should guess that this season Demna intends to once again cross time and space, introducing the new season with a futuristic proposition. However, the story ultimately told is directly expressing personal feelings about the ongoing war in Ukraine by Demna.
Because Demna Gvasalia, born in the former Soviet state of Georgia, personally experienced the Abkhazia civil war 30 years ago and was forced to become a refugee with his mother. At the age of only 10, he even witnessed women and children fleeing their safe shelters in the midst of artillery fire. The war also resulted in the deaths of 5,000 Georgian people due to Russian armed forces and separatists occupying the area. Later, Demna Gvasalia studied in Ukraine for two years.
Witnessing Ukraine being heavily attacked by artillery fire once again by Putin, Demna can no longer escape this harsh reality. For him, his fashion comes from his life, experiences, “The past week has brought back all the memories that my mother and I have always hidden in a box and never looked back at. And we have never overcome it.”
The backstage Demna seems a bit unfamiliar
With Demna’s outstanding performance for the brand and its parent company Kering in recent years, season after season, he has been unable to hide his brilliance even though he usually shies away from the spotlight. In the past few seasons, he has occasionally taken photos with his team, friends in the industry, and backstage. This season, it is still possible to see special guests walking to the backstage to talk to him, but what is different is that Demna, who used to be all smiles, now has a serious expression, looking at the screen, models, all with a troubled look.
Demna plans to cancel this season’s presentation
A so-called “military operation” destroyed Ukraine, and also destroyed Demna. Thirty years later, witnessing the same disaster happening again, with the same aggressors, the same military planes bombing civilians, and the same geopolitical reasons, Demna said that the past week has made it difficult for him to sleep at night. He admitted that the fashion show was decided to proceed as scheduled until the last moment, and indeed considered canceling the fashion show before. He shared, “But I have already made too many sacrifices for Putin in my life. Resistance should be about moving forward, not surrendering to that person’s evil war.” Fashion gives him strength, and he hopes to accumulate more power for the entire nation and all ethnic groups in Ukraine. In addition to rallying for Ukraine on Balenciaga’s official IG, he also placed oversized T-shirts in the colors of the Ukrainian flag – blue and yellow – on every guest’s chair at the event.
The opening speech is Demna’s childhood fear (Oleksandr Oles)
Studying abroad in Ukraine is not as easy as imagined. Demna shared that he was influenced by his personality, feeling quite uneasy about being called to stand up and read aloud in class when he was young, which can even be called a childhood shadow. Although fear is often faced by oneself, let alone compared to what the people of Ukraine experience every day, that kind of awkward situation is nothing, so he decided to personally record a soundtrack, quoting a public speech from Ukrainian poet Oleksandr Oles in a resistance movement, and recorded it in Ukrainian as the prelude speech for the fashion show. Why read it in Ukrainian?
The love and respect I have for him! 🙏🏻💙💛
— 📩 (@Nesmostardently) March 6, 2022
Живи, Україно! 🇺🇦#славаУкраїнi #GloryToUkraine #Balenciaga #DemnaGvasalia https://t.co/GFRC54t5Za pic.twitter.com/9xpZzycPv0
“No need to provide a translation. Because those who need to hear it will naturally understand,” shared Demna.
This is not “Winter on Fire”, this is the global climate summit
This season’s Balenciaga fashion show took place in a giant oval venue, sealed off to resemble a scene of a snowstorm. However, the models were not dressed in cold-resistant, non-slip gear, but in high heels, vests, and extra-long skirts, bending at the waist to step through the thick, one-foot-deep snow. It looks somewhat reminiscent of “Winter on Fire” or Ukraine in 2013.
Demna shared that the fashion show named 360° Show has a dual meaning: it refers to temperature and also to a full-angle venue. Earlier this year, when he visited the Alps, he found that there was no real snow on the mountains, only machine-made artificial snow. This made him start thinking about a not-so-distant future where snow might just be a nostalgic memory, only serving as a simulated effect or something created by machines for a select elite group. Demna explained, “In the future, you will need virtual reality to experience this; I like technology and the virtual world, but there is nothing more beautiful than real life, even if it’s fake snow. And you can’t do that on your phone. That’s why inviting Han is a broken phone. Throw it away!”
That Balenciaga duct tape look is no joke
Although the concept, story, or details of the fashion show have been talked about all along, Balenciaga’s 2022 winter collection still has highlights. You will definitely notice the styles made with “duct tape.” Demna shared that before the show, a team of four wrapped the models in less than 20 minutes and then they walked out directly, “You don’t need Balenciaga’s clothes to wear this style, you just need the duct tape.” However, after the show, Demna shared backstage that the “duct tape” style was not a joke – it was an experiment a child wanted to try dressing up. “Duct tape” will be sold in stores, so everyone can create their own styles, but in an extremely makeshift and patched way. He said, “My fashion concept was born like this, in a whole new way of using cheap things. These are the things that excite me.”
Kim Kardashian appears, but Kanye West is not by her side
Mentioning this “duct tape” look, how can we not mention Kim Kardashian, who previously served as the spokesperson for Balenciaga. She was the first female star to interpret this look for the brand, and she shared that the team took about half an hour to dress her in it. This was her most worried look ever – she was quite concerned that the duct tape would burst as soon as she sat down, but luckily everything went smoothly. However, what’s even stranger (but everyone should be used to by now) is that Kim Kardashian attended this season’s presentation, while Balenciaga’s walking spokesperson, Kim Kardashian’s ex-husband YE (Kanye West), did not show up.
Recycling is not a concept, it’s action
As mentioned above, the series includes a leather jacket made from Balenciaga’s innovative mycelium-derived leather, EPHEA. It grows from mushroom mycelium, reducing ecological footprint without compromising quality or performance on a technical level. Specifically, it is sourced from abundant, rapidly growing organisms that minimize resource consumption and have very low carbon emissions, as they are nourished by low-value agricultural residues. EPHEA is biomanufactured using proprietary processes, featured in the 2022 winter collection as an organic leather alternative that has undergone sustainable processing.
These data are all provided in the press release. However, Kering Group, the parent company of the brand, announced as early as March last year that Balenciaga had completely stopped using fur, and the group plans to achieve 100% environmental goals within a few years. Therefore, this season, in addition to clothing, the blizzard scene seen at the fashion show will all be recycled to offset the carbon emissions caused by the fashion show. Recycling is not a concept, it is action.
On what seems to be the road to the end of the world, everything in front of you may disappear in an instant, but in Demna’s eyes, despite the pain of hardship, there is light at the end, “I believe in a better future. This is part of us as human beings. We naturally strive to become better. Put that experience from 30 years ago – when you didn’t know if you would die – in perspective. Fashion is not important, the weather is not important.”
資料及圖片來源：Courtesy of BALENCIAGA
