It's anyone's guess what Demna has up his sleeve at Balenciaga, scheduled to show at Paris Fashion Week on October 2. Building anticipation, the creative director — a master of memorable show invites — has sent attendees a first look at what he has in store.
The label's Spring/Summer 2023 show invitation arrives in the form of a beat-up leather wallet, filled with a mash-up of ID badges, receipts, and credit cards bearing a seemingly random woman's name: Natalia Antunes.
With the inventive invite, attendees become the mistaken recipients of Antunes' lost wallet, allowing them the surreal experience of rifling through a stranger's belongings — a move that sets the stage for a similarly bizarre runway show.
The invite bears another clue to Saturday's event: the show location and what appears to be the collection's title, "The Mud Show," a name that brings to mind mud wrestling and rainy weather.
By now, Demna is well-versed in the art of the collectible show invite. Previously, Balenciaga sent out laser-engraved iPhones and stacks of fake cash as Fashion Week calling cards, the former teasing the label's unofficial Apple collab and the latter hinting at its kinky New York Stock Exchange show.
What clues can be gleaned from a lost wallet? I'm stumped.
Now, someone find Ms. Antunes before her identity gets stolen!
