Balenciaga: To Wear or Not To Wear

Balenciaga was created by Cristobal Balenciaga in 1917, when he opened his first haute couture atelier at the age of 22 which is insane! That’s my age, and he had a whole business already, talk about entrepreneurship. When you know what you want to do, with passion fueling you, the universe molds the path to your success as long as you chase it. Cristobal knew at a young age what inspired him, his mom took on sewing to support the family and one trip to Paris, allowed Cristobal to be enlightened. Balenciaga started in Spain and then made it to the fashion capital of France by 1937. Twenty years of establishing his brand allowed him to become a very desired household name.

His designs were a breath of fresh air for the times, getting approval from his peers like Coco Chanel, “The only true couturier, others are just draftsmen,” and Chrsitian Dior, “The master of us all”. Unlike the designs of Dior and Chanel that focused on giving women a waist and still held the expectation for women to dress a certain way, Cristobal went against the market, creating a babydoll silhouette for ages older than it was originally created for; it was unconforming to the body, and gave women more of a choice when it came to getting dressed for the day, as well as more room to breathe. At the time beauty standards- which still linger till this day- were heavily influenced by advertisements and media to be thin. Creating a silhouette that didn’t show how tiny your waist was made Cristobal unique. He actively used fit models who were far from the standards in order to have a more inclusive demographic; he saw where the market lacked and filled the void like a true visionary.

Since the beginning of the iconic fashion house, Balenciaga has been going against the grain, keeping the attention on his work; he only ever did one interview with The Times in 1971, 3 years after he closed his house. His models that walked the runway were different than those usual for the time- deemed “the monsters” they were giving a stern snobbish face, changing the game made his designs get more attention, (no such thing as bad marketing) this has continued until now, re: Spring 2023 The Mud Show, monsters still alive and well. His legacy was extended by mentoring iconic designers like Oscar De La Renta, Paco Rabanne, and Hubert Givenchy.

When you make such an impact like Cristobal did, you don’t ever truly die. After his passing, the heirs of his fortune continued to sell perfumes under his name and eventually in 1978 sold the company to then become commercially successful again. The first appointed designers to revive the brand, Micheal Goma and Josephus Thimister, weren’t successful (thanks for nothing). Nicolas Ghesquiere, who was appointed in 1997 made the brand iconic again (thanks for everything). The positive feedback from critics is what made Baleniciaga desirable to be acquired by Kering in 2001 to secure Ghesquiere’s position. I believe that it is important to keep the essence in any brand, especially when evolving with the times, Ghesquiere did exactly that throughout his years at Balenciaga.

Nicolas introduced a more grunge look with leather into Balenciaga and in result designed the iconic Lariat bag, mostly known as the Cagole. His accessory design was revolutionary at the time, making it the It bag for the It girls, so iconic that it had a recent resurgence. Little fun fact: Kate Moss’s interest for the design is what made the bag go into production and became a timeless & very sought after purse due to all the celebrities getting their paparazzi pictures taken while holding the Cagole. Unfortunately, everything good must inevitably come to an end, Ghesquiere left Balenciaga for Louis Vuitton Women’s in 2012 and still resides… which is a topic for another article.

The successor, Alexander Wang, didn’t last as long, staying a total of 3 years. Wang ended his era at Balenciaga with a bang and quite frankly the best collection he produced for the house- keeping it chic, classic and white, kind of like a metaphor for putting his white flag up I guess. Bringing us to the latest Creative Director, Demna Gvaslia, to wear or not to wear. Balenciaga announced in 2015 that he would be taking over designing, but little did the future know that he would also be taking over the fashion market as a whole.

Demna’s designs started the rise of the very profitable, high fashion version of streetwear. Taking the casual look of an oversized hoodie, crocs, and layering but making it so desirable that you just have to spend thousands to look like every person in the midwest. The aesthetic of a chunky shoe which fathers around the world have already been wearing, turned into a sensation that couldn’t be ignored. It was simply genius- fashion was evolving into a more relaxed environment, with brands like Supreme, Palace, Bape, etc, making sweats and sneakers the coolest thing you could be wearing. I believe that this trend in fashion correlates with Gen Z and our lack of interest in putting more effort than needed into everything we do. Demna made casual Fridays extend to a socially acceptable casual attire for everyday.

The shift in fashion is one for the books and history that will be treasured forever. With comfort value going up and then the pandemic happening in 2020, heightened consumers interest in streetwear, so that they can continue to slay with low effort- changing the market and the way we shop. “He codified the way we were already dressing into a global style sensibility, transforming the quotidian into items worthy of worship.” (GQ) Balenciaga became a billion dollar company with Demna in control, winning him a CFDA award for his mastery.

Inevitably, all good things come to an end, in the age of cancel culture- Demna was the next victim. In November of 2022 a holiday ad campaign came out displaying children in the new collection and in the background was a clear image of a court document about child porn. The internet went crazy when it was found, debates circled among fashion critics, A list celebrity contracts were terminated, and Balenciaga unfollowed Demna on Instagram. This controversy started an uproar from devoted fashion fans unsure of how to react, to wear Balenciaga or not wear?

I couldn’t help but hear the many conversations about the scandal, people scared to wear their expensive clothes due to judgment and fear that they too are supporting child porn VS the people defending Demna and taking the non serious approach. It made me question if Demna actually knew what was going on, some say it’s the fault of the marketing team and others blame the man in charge. Child porn is not something to joke about or take lightly, especially with a recent documentary that came out highlighting Jeffery Epstein twisted joys in life. I took a poll on my Instagram to engage with my peers about what they think, Balenciaga- iconic forever or dead to me? The results are very representational of the conversations I’ve been having, 50% iconic and 50% dead to me- statistics don’t lie.

The history of Balenciaga is important to note as we move forward from all the controversy. Balenciaga was here before Demna and will continue to be iconic without his influence- or so I hope. I’m intrigued to see how the house moves forward, who will be the next creative director? Or will Demna continue on, allowing time to heal all wounds? Demna designed trash bags for his most recent collection… I guess that was a form of foreshadowing. Time will tell what Balenciaga has in store for the future, but until then keep on wearing those hoodies and crocs I guess.

Cristobal Balenciaga Era

Nicholas Ghesquiere Era

Alexander Wang Era

Demna Gvasalia Era

Credits:

Bell, Hollie. “Cristobal Balenciaga: 10 Things You Didn't Know about the Couturier.” Country and Town House, 3 Jan. 2018, https://www.countryandtownhouse.com/style/cristobal-balenciaga/.

Borrelli-Persson, Laird. “Viva Balenciaga Couture! 31 Masterworks by the House Founder.” Vogue, 20 Jan. 2020, https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/couture-designs-by-cristobal-balenciaga-in-vogue-from-the-archives.

Christina Binkley, Maliha Shoaib. “The Price of Provocation: What's next for Balenciaga?” Vogue Business, 29 Nov. 2022, https://www.voguebusiness.com/fashion/the-price-of-provocation-whats-next-for-balenciaga.

Dazed. “Breaking down Balenciaga, Era by Influential Era.” Dazed, 26 May 2017, https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/36080/1/balenciaga-designers-nicolas-ghesquiere-alexander-wang-demna-gvasalia.

Gordon, Georgia. “The Story behind Balenciaga's Iconic Motorcycle Lariat Bag.” Irvrsbl, Irvrsbl, 27 Sept. 2021, https://irvrsbl.com/en-us/blogs/news/the-story-behind-balenciagas-iconic-motorcycle-lariat-bag.

Tashjian, Rachel. “Balenciaga Designer Demna Gvasalia Is Rewriting the Rules of High Fashion.” GQ, 6 Dec. 2021, https://www.gq.com/story/gq-fashion-awards-balenciaga-demna-gvasalia.