It is first of all a very mineral smell that strikes upon the arrival of the Balenciaga fashion show in Villepinte.
Normal, the runway, disturbing at will, turns out to be a huge crater of black mud.
After the snowstorm at the fall-winter show last March, which clearly referred to the war in Ukraine, here comes the slush.
“It was Santiago Sierra
(Spanish artist, photographer and videographer of the alterglobalization, editor's note)
who worked with us on this project, explains Demna, the artistic director of Balenciaga, who needs no introduction.
It's like a follow up as I wondered what happens when the snow melts.
Answer: mud!
Here is the starting point and it is like digging for the truth in my case.
Read alsoBalenciaga launches the most expensive “trash bag” in the world
But don't count on the most influential designer of the moment to tell us, this time, the state of the world and the inspiration for his spring summer 2023 collection. His note of intent left on the guests' seat is very explicit (or not).
"I hate being labeled and put in a box," he wrote.
Society, the internet, and the world in general like to do this because they feel safe doing so.
You have to have courage and perseverance to really assume your identity... But how wonderful it is to be different from others.
The challenge is to get up and keep walking towards your true identity, the true self, after being beaten and knocked down...I have decided not to explain my collections anymore and not to verbalize my creations, but to express a state of mind.
Fashion is a visual art and all we need is for it to be seen through someone's eyes.
Either, so it's up to everyone to see what they want to see in this collection.
End of the world or glimmer of hope?
It is up to everyone to find their desires and their state of mind.
Full screen
Spring-Summer 2023 collection. Balenciaga
Five Star Front Row
Front Row: A few members of the most high-profile family of the moment settle down: Khloé Kardashian, Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian's children, Saint and North West.
The first pass?
The latter's father, Kanye West, in an oversized military parka, leather biker pants, a hooded sweatshirt pulled up over his cap.
The star artist kicks things off, splattering the mud-covered podium in his path.
Is he going to war?
It doesn't matter, boys in oversized jackets and ultra-destroyed baggy jeans, others in zip-up hoodies, running shorts and 3XL sneakers follow, their faces swollen, mouth guards quite evident but carrying funny bags in their hands way a little freaky fluff as if, in this disturbing world, the return to childhood could prove comforting.
Full screen
Kylie and Khloé Kardashian arriving at the Balenciaga show.
Balenciaga
Read alsoWith its cosmic dresses, Balenciaga signs the haute couture explosion of the season
East Berlin punk spirit
There are also all those references to the punk world of 80s East Berlin – crest hairstyles, bomber jackets and black leather – which probably tell a different story.
And these men who pass holding tight, under their parkas or XXL jackets, baby carriers (with very realistic fake babies) while others wrap their necks in funny scoubidou fake fur scarves.
What are they telling us?
Some will see it as a mode of survival, others as a nod to the sweetness of a family environment.
Full screen
Spring-Summer 2023 collection. Balenciaga
After many masculine passages, the girls finally arrive, rather sexy, in their torn skirts and their tight T-shirts, their dresses tied in jersey or mermaids embroidered with crystals.
It is also with them that comes the color of yellow, pink, red — and all the beauty and allure of femininity.
They can wear piercings and sophisticated sandals, shrunken down jacket in shiny red nylon with sequined clogs on their feet, it doesn't matter, they too play all the scores that suit them.
Full screen
Spring-Summer 2022 collection. Balenciaga
There will therefore undoubtedly be a lot of things to dig into in this spring-summer collection: fun and slightly crazy accessories such as these large leather shopping bags integrated into the sleeves of clothes, these 90's techno glasses, these frilly ballerina shoes worn by both the men than by the women and all these items deliberately worn, destroyed, patched, which undoubtedly require as much technicality as an embroidered dress.
“Let everyone be anyone and make love not war,” concludes Demna.
