RUNWAY

Balenciaga Brings on
the Red Carpet

By The Rebag Team, Oct 4, 2021

Balenciaga
played with
red carpet glamour.

For its first IRL ready-to-wear show since the pandemic hit, Balenciaga toyed with its audience through a step-and-repeat where both the models and guests stopped for photos. Once everyone took their seats, a special episode of The Simpsons showed Homer dressed in his finest Balenciaga look.

During the pandemic, Demna Gvasalia found a number of both innovative and interesting ways to show Balenciaga’s new collections. There was the VR collection for Spring/Summer 2021, showed through Oculus glasses sent to 330 guests around the globe, complete with a video game; and more recently the “Hackathon” between Balenciaga and Gucci, where the same model, artist Eliza Douglas, wore every look in the collection. For Spring/Summer 2022, Balenciaga returned to the IRL format for its latest ready-to-wear collection, this time creating a cheeky scenario around the red carpet. Both models and show guests walked through the step-and-repeat and the show space, causing people to wonder, Who is a Balenciaga model, and who is attending the show?

Once guests took their seats, they were treated to a special episode of The Simpsons that showcased Homer in a red Balenciaga puffer jacket with a special guest appearance by Vogue editor Anna Wintour.

As for the handbags, the Hourglass silhouette that is synonymous with Gvasalia’s time at the brand dominated throughout, with sleek, minimal renditions featuring the BB logo. There were also several crocodile-embossed versions. New, accordion-style handbags featuring three pouches recalled also showed up. Giant BB earrings dotted the collection. With Kim Kardashian’s Met Gala showing and this latest Simpsons stunt, Balenciaga is indeed having a moment pulling all forms of pop culture into its orbit.