The transgressive elegance of Balenciaga Couture 52º

After the presentation of the 51st haute couture collection, which featured celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Dua Lipa and Nicole Kidman, Balenciaga is moving away from showmanship for its 52nd Couture collection to focus more on design.

After Demna‘s recent controversies with Balenciaga’s latest advertising campaigns, the creative director decided to focus on experimenting with tailoring, deconstructing and reconstructing silhouettes and telling the house’s story in his subsequent launches. This vision was evident in Balenciaga’s 52nd Haute Couture collection, the Georgian designer’s third. And it is that the creative put the focus, once again, on making quality fashion.

Balenciaga Couture was presented once again in the Maison’s salons at 10 Avenue George, where Cristóbal himself presented his collections to the French elite. With the voice of Maria Callas singing O mio babbino caro or Casta Diva, the show began with the iconic model Danielle Slavik dressed in a long black dress with French sleeves, flowers on the shoulders, a pearl necklace and white gloves. The same velvet design from the 1966 Haute Couture collection.

The sobriety that is so representative of Balenciaga was evident in the first looks, to later experiment with volumes at the back, such as the curved neckline worn by Vittoria Ceretti. Tailoring in vivid tones and disproportionate dimensions were also prominent, with very pronounced waists and shoulder pads. The almost architectural details were also present in skirts, lace dresses and coats inspired by the 1947 barrel line.

Demna did not hesitate to dig into the house’s archives to present new versions of iconic Cristobal codes. Feathers, metallic looks with glitter and ruffles like the one worn by Isabelle Huppert or fringes were some of the key elements of this 52nd collection. The fashion house showed its commitment to traditional craftsmanship, combining it perfectly with new avant-garde elements through painted textiles that simulated fur and denim.

But the most surprising was the look that closed the show in which the contemporary artist Eliza Douglas emulated a Joan of Arc. We are talking about a medieval armour in the form of a 3D printed dress made of galvanised resin with a chrome polish. Rigid and reflective, this totally unexpected look fuses classical techniques with avant-garde advances. Demna has once again proven her position in the world of haute couture, offering a unique and innovative perspective on fashion.