Balenciaga’s Summer ‘25 collection was a classic Demna showdown. The dark showspace had a front row of Anna Wintour, Lindsay Lohan, Future and Nicole Kidman, among many other editors, celebrities and VIPs, sat on both sides of a polished wooden dinner table, ready for dinner to be served. This layout was inspired by Creative Director Demna Gvasalia’s childhood. “My early memories of fashion start with me drawing looks on cardboard, cutting them out and making ‘fashion shows’ at my grandma’s dinner table,” he wrote in his press note. “Thirty five years later, this show reconnects me to the beginning of my vision.”
Demna took his playtime fashion shows and turned them into real-life dolls served on a literal dinner table. And while, according to his show note, he was trying to reconnect with his inner child with this collection, childhood was not the theme. The first looks – the entrées, if you will – which walked to the sound of “Why Don’t You Do Right”, were skin-toned retro lingerie-style bodysuits with mesh classic Balenci “pantashoes”. The last look of the lingerie set series paired with a gigantic brown fur. Then came ‘40s-style dresses with demure business at the front and party, open-back corset detailing at the back, while models carried an updated version of the Rodeo bag. It’s probably the first time we’ve seen Demna play with ultra-feminine, vintage-inspired sexy silhouettes.
The soundtrack then switched to a techno remix of Britney Spears’ “Gimme More”, and Demna served his main course: Demna-style oversized shapes, denim, sculpted square shoulders and more “pantashoes” in lycra. Pants were super low-waisted, you could almost see the crotch, and they were paired with cropped, structured puffy bombers. The collection explored the concept of anonymity – caps were designed to cover the face and black sunglasses were shaped to block out the eyes.
Then there was also the theme of overconsumption: jackets had corsets for collars and jeans for lapels, hoodies had coats attached to the sleeves, a skirt was entirely crafted from leather over-the-knee boots, pieces were layered like piles of clothes, iPhones were hanging from models’ wrists, the presentation was on a dinner table. Britney’s “Gimme More” got a bit too literal.
The vision was messy, but that was the point. Demna wanted to show that fashion isn’t perfect, just like humanity. It wasn’t a coincidence that the only two graphics in the collection were “HUMAN BEING” and “FASHION DESIGNER”. The last three looks were the boldest with their ultra-squared, oversized shoulders – the designer showing off his more refined craftsmanship and contradicting the more messy looks.
Demna took the Demna lane of tongue-in-cheek fashion, questioning the over-consuming, bingeing culture with his collection, and overfeeding his guests with allegories. “The time has come for fashion to have a point of view,” he wrote in his show note. One thing’s for sure: the Balenci fans will be eating this one up.
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