Balenciaga's new premise: 'Business in the front, party in the back'

There are only two ways to dress these days. Either you go for the Adam Sandler vibes with XXL basketball shorts and huge sweatshirts, or you go for the micro-shorts and crop tops that leave everything on display. Well, Demna seems to have taken that Internet meme to heart, because his Balenciaga SS25 collection at Paris Fashion Week brought that dichotomy to the runway, with a mix of oversized oversized and something much more seductive.

Attendees, including Nicole Kidman, Future, Katy Perry and Lindsay Lohan, were treated to a multi-sensory experience. Demna not only played with silhouettes, but also with memories of her childhood. “My earliest memories of fashion are cutting out cardboard and doing fashion shows at my kitchen table,” confessed the Maison’s creative director. “Thirty-five years later, this show reconnects me with those beginnings. It’s a tribute to fashion with a point of view.”

And boy, was the point of view crystal clear. At the longest dining table we’ve ever seen, front row celebs feasted on the main course: a runway show where glittery lingerie peeked out from under fur coats, denim pants were recycled as jacket lapels and iPhone chargers were integrated into handbags. The aesthetic was a constant play between anonymity and statement.

With Britney Spears’ “Gimme More” playing, the first models appeared in exposed lingerie, ultra-feminine silhouettes layered under oversized sweaters and backwards trench coats. Because, in the end, it’s what’s on the inside that counts, right? High-necked dresses in scarlet and black looked elegant until the models twirled and exposed a daring set of straps that barely covered the back. Business in the front, party in the back.

But the collection didn’t end there. The second half was pure post-party hangover, with giant open coats over bare torsos, pants that turned into scarves and sweatshirts that looked like they had been dragged through the city on a walk of shame. Quite a statement about the chaos of the morning after.

The show culminated with a triangular black satin dress, a now classic Demna signature, that closed the runway show before “Gimme More” came to an abrupt halt, sending attendees home. The brand surrendered to the fact: sex sells, even in 2024. And in an economy where luxury has to find new forms of seduction, not even Balenciaga can escape that truth.