PFW AW17: Balenciaga

DEMNA Gvasalia continued his rule of the roost in matters of cool at the Balenciaga AW17 catwalk show in Paris. Starting with a bang by warping clothing directly on the body, cumbersome leather and woollen check coats were worn nonchalantly incorrect in a move that was tantalisingly trendy, both with a finger firmly on the pulse and tapped into Balenciaga’s strikingly different haute heritage. Clever boy Demna.

Coats were then fused together with skirts and pointy-toed sock-booted legs sprouted below. So intent in fusing the ironically ordinary unexpectedly with high fashion even went as far as turning car mats into wrap skirts. Pattern and print was introduced with equal wry sartorial wit. Kitschy wallpaper florals, ‘80s Rodeo Drive silk-scarf chain motif and orange hued army camo, it was fair game for any decoration that exercised a chic lack of concern for taste.

After a flirty flurry of mini-dresses the next logical extreme for Demna to explore was bombastic giant ballgowns. They demonstrated an instinctive nature that’s the key to this creative director’s dynamic new presence in the industry. Simply striking the last looks were the binary opposite of overthinking a design. About time fashion showed this kind of truly free-spirited thinking can work wonders.

by Livia Feltham

Images courtesy of Balenciaga