Balenciaga's Haute Couture 2023 collection served as a timely reminder of the genius of Demna Gvasalia after two remarkably subdued recent ready-to-wear presentations.
In the wake of the child ad scandal that plagued the house in late 2022, post-hiatus Balenciaga hasn't been quite its same, subversive self.
That was until the house made a bid to reclaim its position in the world of opulence on July 5, with its 52nd haute couture presentation held inside the Parisian salon once overseen by house founder Cristobal Balenciaga.
In the days leading up to the show, guests received a grandeur golden bracelet by way of invitation, a piece inspired by the magnetic wrist pieces traditionally worn by couture atelier staff.
Such is the very nature of couture, the show was expected to be a much grander affair than we've seen from Balenciaga as of late.
Even still, it'd always prove inherently difficult to top last season's star-studded soiree which saw Kim Kardashian, Dua Lipa, Bella Hadid, Naomi Campbell, and even Nicole Kidman walk for the house.
Still, even without a slew of high-profile names on the runway, Balenciaga Couture impressed, even if it (again) wasn't couture as you knew it.
Suiting took center stage early on, arriving oversized and and typically exaggerated, with distressed denim jeans and jackets reiterating that, yes, you're watching a Balenciaga couture show.
Distressed and shaggy dresses arrived later on in a rainbow of pinks and reds, sometimes draped in sparkles and paired with elbow-length sheer gloves (a twist on a Demna staple). Rigid scarves, statement eyewear, and voluminous footwear provided Balenciaga's relatively muted statement moments in a presentation that was surprisingly lacking in extras.
Then again, were obvious grabs at attention necessary? The metal, armor-like dress that closed Balenciaga's latest couture show served as a worthy head-turner in and of itself.
This couture runway served as a reminder that Demna's Balenciaga serious about its couture collections.
Balenciaga's show, viewed from the front row by names like Anna Wintour, Offset, and Cardi B (the new queen of couture), was a similarly sober affair to prior Balenciaga couture presentations, which emphasized considered craft and traditional silhouette over flash (the voluminous, bell-shaped gowns are a reference to Cristobal Balenciaga's iconic balloon dresses).
Balenciaga's show also, like the rest of Couture Week, sidestepped the protests that've gripped Paris and the rest of the country, over the past several days. The only luxury label to comment on the civil unrest was CELINE, which was showing its latest men's collection irrespective of the couture shows.
It's odd that socially conscious Balenciaga, which has publicly supported the World Food Programme and Ukraine as it fends off the Russian invasion, didn't comment on the Paris protests but, then again, this is a quieter, more sober Balenciaga.
