Balenciaga by Demna: An End of An Era

At Kering's Paris headquarters, a one-time exhibition unfolds Demna's work for Balenciaga, featuring pieces across 30 collections from the past decade.

 
 

In the historic Kering headquarters at 40 Rue de Sèvres, lies Demna Gvasalia’s resume from the last decade at Balenciaga. A decade of radical creation and endless ideas unfolded in this complete, uncensored retrospective, curated by Demna himself.

Demna’s magnitude as a designer cannot be denied, although many critics have tried; this exhibit shows his credentials as a creative force, a marketing genius, and a brilliant couturier. Through 101 selected pieces, we are taken through Demna’s aesthetic autopsy, inviting us to explore how the designer revolutionized the face of contemporary fashion, challenged pre-established rules, and posed a satirical lens on society through his designs.

Demna had become a synonym for oversized, deconstructed silhouettes and has deeply influenced fashion’s embrace of streetwear, often sparking controversy with his idea of wearable casual wear.

The exhibition opens with a rejection letter Demna received in 2007 from Balenciaga, which reads: "Dear Demna, Thank you for your interest in an internship at the Menswear Design Team at Balenciaga. We've carefully reviewed your application and, after consideration, we will not be moving forward with your candidacy at this time. Your profile will remain on file should future opportunities come up."

This email isn’t about holding a grudge, but rather a gentle reminder that rejection can often be a redirection toward something greater, like in Demna’s case, where missing out on an internship led to becoming a creative director.

Now, as he prepares for his last couture show, Demna concludes his long journey with the presumption that his force cannot be denied, and we’re left longing to see his new chapter in Gucci.

 

Courtesy of Balenciaga

 

Balenciaga by Demna is on view from June 26 through July 9, at 40 Rue de Sèvres, 75007, Paris.

Paris Couture Week Predictions Through the Lens of Charles Worth's Current Retrospective @ the Petit Palais

Unlike other fashion, Paris moves through layers of history and a continuous dialogue between tradition and change. But in today’s challenging and ever-changing economic and political climate, what can we expect from this trendsetting city next?

 

Worth & Bobergh, Robe à transformation, vers 1866-1868.
Faille verte et tulle de soie. Philadelphia museum of Art, États-Unis d’Amérique.
© 125th Anniversary Acquisition.
Gift of the heirs of Charlotte Hope Binney Tyler Montgomery, 1996, Philadelphia museum of Art.

 


text by Kim Shveka


As Haute Couture week descends on Paris, the city reasserts its place as the center of gravity in fashion, the stage where elegance is both performed and consumed. The newly opened Charles Worth exhibition, Worth, Inventing Haute Couture, at the Petit Palais deepens this position, reminding us that Paris’s fashion dominance is not merely current. It is layered with history, narratives, and unbreakable foundations that were built since the 15th century. Worth is cited as the father of Haute Couture; he altered the way to view fashion, from practicality to a status of art. He created a system that is defined by exclusivity, artisanal craft, and aesthetic authority that helped distinguish Paris as a city where fashion is understood not only as clothing, but as culture. The aim was not just beauty, but distinction—an aesthetic nationalism that still echoes in the way French fashion is marketed and perceived today. From this foundation, figures like Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, and Yves Saint Laurent built empires not only by introducing new silhouettes but by shifting the paradigm of femininity, luxury, and modernity. The designers didn’t just reflect French culture; they directed it to the rest of the world.

The other fashion capitals each carry their own codes. London is where fashion is pushed to its most conceptual edge. New York delivers commercial clarity and cultural speed. Milan prizes structure, refinement, and a family-driven approach to legacy. But Paris continues to present itself as the stage where it all connects—the final act, the definitive voice. Its claim to be the capital is not just symbolic; it is structural: the power, the history, and the industry still move to the Parisian rhythm. And yet, that same stage is now caught in a cycle that resists disruption.

Alongside the grandeur of the maisons and the ritualistic anticipation of the shows, there’s an unsettling pattern repeating itself in the background. In the span of a few months, many of the major houses in the fashion industry have appointed new creative directors, reshuffling the same names that have long been in circulation. With every season, the game of musical chairs intensifies, and what once felt like an exciting leap now looks more like a closed loop. The question is no longer who gets the chair but whether there are any chairs left for those who have never had the chance to sit in one.

This past year has seen dramatic shifts across the Parisian landscape. After years of dominating Balenciaga with a confrontational, minimal lexicon, Demna left the house and was swiftly appointed at Gucci. In his place, Pierpaolo Piccioli, formerly of Valentino, took over creative direction at Balenciaga, signaling a sharp pivot from shock to softness, from provocation to romantic craft. At Dior, Jonathan Anderson, who had already proven his capacity for reinvention at Loewe, was named creative director for the entire house, including menswear, womenswear, and couture, a role no one has held since Christian Dior himself. Sarah Burton, once the artistic director of Alexander McQueen, made her debut at Givenchy with a recalibrated take on femininity anchored in tailoring and strength. Meanwhile, Glenn Martens, already at Diesel and Y/Project, was announced as the new face of Maison Margiela following John Galliano’s departure, with a highly anticipated debut planned for tomorrow.

 

Gazette du Bon ton, Entre chien et loups, 1912. 24,7 × 19,2 cm. 
Palais Galliera, musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris. CCØ Paris Musées / Palais Galliera, musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris.

 

On the surface, this looks like change. But beneath the headlines and the hashtags, it’s the same logic that’s been quietly driving the industry for years. None of these appointments were about discovering an unheard voice or matching a designer with a house based on his aesthetic affiliation; they were about bankability. The equation is simple and cynical: if a designer has already succeeded commercially, they can probably do it again. A recognizable name promises brand buzz, social media traction, and a fast return on investment—all in a fragile market where luxury sales are under pressure and leather goods are expected to do the heavy lifting.

This tendency has made the creative director role more of a function than a vision. It has also made the path to that role narrower than ever. The doors that were once open for young designers with new ideas are now closed by default. It is not that the industry doesn’t want new voices; it simply doesn’t leave them enough space to develop, to fail, or to prove themselves beyond a single collection. With every appointment handed to a designer who has already made it, another seat is taken from someone who hasn’t.

The expectation is that each new director will immediately stabilize revenue, secure brand loyalty, and carry the weight of legacy while still offering something “fresh.” But freshness is difficult to fake, and even harder to maintain when everyone is rotating between the same houses. The result is a kind of creative fatigue. Consumers may still buy, but the cultural impact of each new collection grows weaker.

 

Worth, Manteau de cour porté par Franca Florio, 1902. Palazzo Pitti / Galleria del Costume , Florence, Italie. 
© Museo della Moda e del Costume, Palazzo Pitti, Gallerie degli Uffizi, Florence. Ministero della Cultura.

 

John Galliano’s recent departure from Maison Margiela deepens this dilemma. His Artisanal Spring 2024 was arguably the most talked about in years, precisely because it evoked a time when a fashion show was true art, when fashion shows aimed to move, not sell. Yet, such significant shows appear so rarely now. And with the latest wave of appointments, they seem even less likely. Why, then, are even the most profitable luxury houses struggling to produce that level of artistry? Can a system so driven by metrics and performance indicators ever make room for true creative vision again? These new directors may bring efficiency, consistency, or even spectacle, but they don’t replace what the industry is truly missing: a sense of forward motion. The biggest luxury brands carry immense responsibility; they dictate trends and set the standard. Yet, they consistently fail to raise the bar, to truly innovate, and to genuinely make us feel something.

This is the paradox Paris finds itself in. The city still holds the world’s attention, but it is no longer opening doors the way it once did. Couture Week is the moment when fashion is meant to step outside of commerce and return to craftsmanship and conceptual purity. But even here, the same logic applies. Trust is placed in those who have already delivered profits, not in those who could shape the future if only given the platform.

What is missing is not talent. It is the willingness to take a risk on someone who is not already on the circuit. The problem is not just that the chairs are constantly changing; it’s that they are being filled in a closed room. The game is being played by the same few, while others wait in the wings for a door that may never open.

As the week unfolds and the collections are unveiled, Paris will once again claim its position at the center of fashion. But unless the industry begins to create space for new perspectives, it risks becoming a hall of mirrors. The reflection is beautiful, but it does not move.

 

Nadar, La comtesse Greffulhe, 1886.
Procédé photomécanique, 29 × 16,8 cm.
Palais Galliera, musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris.
CCØ Paris Musées / Palais Galliera, musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris.

 

Worth, Inventing Haute Couture is on view through September 7th at the Petit Palais, Av. Winston Churchill, 75008, Paris.

Highlights From Balenciaga's Winter 24 Collection during Paris Fashion Week

Taking place at les Invalides, under a set of screens tracking a narrative timeline from morning to night over natural and electronic landscapes, the projected images shift from actual to artificial—or somewhere in between the two states. Editing, splicing, content sharing, scrolling: each element and more plays across the monitors.

The soundtrack is composed by BFRND and features high energy rhythms, hypnotic melodies and voices turned into synths. 

The 24/7, a limited-edition wraparound mask, has an aerodynamic single-mold design that seamlessly obscures the wearer’s face around the eyes and along its sides by enveloping it from every angle. Ergonomic hollows hold each ear—looping under instead of simply sitting atop. Each end of the mask tapers toward the back of the head, leaving an opening so it can easily be donned or removed. A Balenciaga logo is lasered onto the left side.

Another standout was the limited-edition eBay t-shirt, with only 200 produced. The garment can be found in classic Balenciaga gray with a distressed treatment and eBay’s multi-colored logo.

Balenciaga Music, Curated by Artistic Director Demna, Provides A Unique Sartorial and Auditory Experience

On November 20th, 2023, Balenciaga announced the next phase of Balenciaga Music, curated by artistic director Demna. The initiative aims to provide a comprehensive music experience through innovative formats. The project features Archive, an English group with a 28-year history in electronic, trip-hop, post- and progressive rock. Archive created an exclusive 8.5-minute track, "Patterns," and a 7-hour playlist for Balenciaga.

The unique aspect of "Patterns" is its exclusive availability through an NFC chip embedded in limited-edition Balenciaga Music | Archive merchandise. Buyers can unlock an original listening event by scanning the chip with a smartphone. The interactive garments, including T-shirts and hoodies displaying Archive's discography, will be sold in selected Balenciaga stores worldwide and online.

This collaboration represents a first for both Archive and Balenciaga, as Archive has never worked with a fashion brand, and Balenciaga has never premiered music through a product. Alongside the exclusive track, Archive curated a 7-hour playlist available on a new Balenciaga Music hub on balenciaga.com, linking to various streaming services.

Darius Keeler, a founding member of Archive, emphasized the alignment of values between Balenciaga and Archive, emphasizing individuality and innovation. The project expands Balenciaga Music by introducing entirely new music tailored to Balenciaga's audience, coupled with a technically advanced merch series for accessing the music.

BFRND Releases Soundtrack To Balenciaga's Summer 2023 Collection

This week, BFRND released Elephant, Balenciaga’s Summer 2023 original soundtrack in collaboration With German rapper UFO361 and producer SONUS030. The inspiration for the soundtrack comes from the idea of having to fight to be who you are and the trio wanted to produce music that gives strength to their audience, something that you can listen to while walking in the street with the feeling of being indestructible, that nothing in this world can stop you from being who you are. The expression “The elephant in the room” is a metaphorical idiom for an important or enormous topic, question or controversial issue that is obvious or that everyone knows about, but no one mentions or wants to discuss because it makes at least some of them uncomfortable and is personally, socially, or politically embarrassing, controversial, inflammatory, or dangerous. The term is often used to describe an issue that involves a social taboo, which generates disagreement, such as race, religion, politics or sexuality. It is applicable when a subject is emotionally charged; and the people who might have spoken up decide that it is probably best avoided. The artwork for this LP has been fully generated with Dall-e 2, a text-to-image artificial Intelligence developed by Open AI. Streaming everywhere now.

Read Our Review Of Vetements' Spring 2017 Couture Collection →

From the very beginning, Vetements connected with fashion lovers not because of how different it was, but because of how oddly familiar it is. Demna Gvasalia and his radical collective of European designers are primarily interested in the ways that mainstream products have been co-opted and used by various sub-cultures as signifiers, protectors, and weapons.  Demna will tell any interviewer that asks that Vetements is not a “conceptual” brand; that it’s really “just about clothes,” as the brand’s name would lead you to believe. But the fact of the matter, the “just clothes” mantra is conceptual in and of itself. Demna, and stylist Lotta Volkolva, use the identities of clothes to extrapolate ideas from them: a hoodie sized to this means X and jeans with this particular cut mean Y. It’s almost like the viewer or the wearer can project his or her own ideas onto the clothes, like a blank canvas. The skinhead and his bomber jacket, the DJ and his tracksuit, the model and her stilettos: Vetements constantly finds new ways of looking at products we’ve seen, and probably worn, 1000 times. Click here to read more. 

Read Our Review Of Paris Fashion Week's Spring Summer 2017 Presentations →

Paris Fashion Men’s Week was in typical fine form, re-invigorating my own lust for fashion after a dreary Milan and an uneven London. Though the two shows I’m usually most excited for, those by Raf Simons and Gosha Rubchinskiy, already played out in Florence, their absence didn’t deter my attention. That would be mainly because of one man: Demna Gvasalia. Demna introduced Balenciaga’s first menswear show in history. The expectations between that notion, not to mention Vetements being the coolest brand in fashion and all that, were colossal. How did Demna respond to this soul crushing pressure? Click here to read more.