PARIS — Demna may have pushed the envelope with his latest Balenciaga couture show, presenting creations made from materials including upcycled plastic bags, aluminum foil and synthetic hair, but a new exhibition at parent company Kering’s headquarters in Paris aims to show he has more in common with founder Cristóbal Balenciaga than one might suspect.
The show, titled “The Subtleties of a Dialogue,” marks the first time the creative director’s designs are being presented alongside archival creations by the legendary Spanish couturier, who died in 1972. Part of the annual European Heritage Days, it will be open to the public on Saturday and Sunday.
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Among the things the designers have in common are architecturally complex structures; exaggerated volumes; garments with emphatic lines; the use of new materials; monochromatic abstraction; monastic profiles, and a focus on anonymity, both in their designs and their approach to public exposure, notes a booklet handed out to visitors.
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“The house’s founder, Cristóbal Balenciaga, revolutionized the world of fashion and haute couture, changing how we perceive beauty and standards,” Balenciaga chief executive officer Cédric Charbit said in a statement.
“He was a pioneer, a leader and from my point of view, the first couturier with such a radical and holistic vision — a couturier who potentially invented for himself the concept of what we today call a creative director,” he said.
“Creativity and redefining the concepts of beauty have always driven the house and still do with Demna as creative director — a force that has again turned Balenciaga into a couture powerhouse,” Charbit added.
The house made its return to couture in 2021 after 53 years and has since doubled the size of its salons at 10 Avenue George V as it courts a new generation of clients with made-to-measure outfits and high-tech accessories, like face shields developed by Mercedes-Benz Formula 1 racing engineers and purse-like Bang & Olufsen portable speakers.
“The exhibition is an invitation to observe and understand the aesthetics and codes of Balenciaga and the global impact the house has had and continues to have on fashion. Among the 59 silhouettes exhibited, there is a unique harmony between fashion’s past, present and future,” Charbit added.
The exhibition is divided into six themes: the Collar, the Sleeve, the Hourglass Waist, the Cocoon Back, the color Black and a section called Dialogues that directly juxtaposes past and present takes on similar ideas.
A scenography that provides windows on each garment allows the eye to isolate details and draw parallels between, say, a hooded sweatshirt from summer 2022 and a houndstooth coat from winter 1962. A circular structure with slits in the sides provides a glimpse of monochromatic black pieces in materials such as Spanish lace, velvet or neoprene.
Alongside partially seen designs are full silhouettes that show how Demna translates the house’s history into his own language. For instance, two sleeveless evening dresses with bulging hips and floral embroidery sit side by side, one from 2021, the other from 1960.