Just look at the two images that Demna Gvasalia, creative director of Balenciaga, showed to the public in 2024. Here’s a blonde in pink. Head to toe in pink. Uggs almost reach the knees, nails are incredibly long, and Hollywood is behind her. And here is the second photo – a slender Asian guy (he seems angular and fragile, Generation Z body aesthetics at their finest) and a big jock – a sugar daddy? – with a huge chain around his neck.
On the one hand, these are very recognizable images but, at the same time, more exaggerated. They evoke the thoughts of kitsch in which the main attention is paid to the extravagance of appearance and the loudness of its elements.
Does the brand speak to us in the language of kitsch? Demna admits that he constantly rethinks the concept of beauty and forges an immediately recognizable style and the consideration of how the body interacts with garments. Not a word about kitsch.
At the same time, like any creative person, the designer is tormented by numerous questions. Among them, according to him, are the following: What is luxury? What is fashion and why does it even matter? Who do I do what I do for? Is fashion enough? In a world oversaturated by content, is anything ever enough? What is enough?
And then, in the Winter 2024 collection, we see these pants for $2,290. How can you describe them? Let’s say that they are tasteless but fashionably tasteless.
In the 80s and 90s, these pants were mostly worn by bad guys. These guys were poor and could only afford clothes from the market. They were engaged in petty thievery or simply bullying passers-by, and pretended to be tough guys, like in the action movies with Jean-Claude Van Damme or Steven Seagal.
No doubt, these pants are a stylization and a reference to pop-culture. They seem to answer the question of whether fashion alone is enough. No, not enough. And even luxury is not enough.
“Luxury is by definition a sort of scarcity, something that is not infinitely available. What seems to be truly rare and finite right now is, actually, creativity itself. I believe that creativity has secretly become a new form of luxury”, said the designer on Balenciaga’s Winter 24 show.
Well, the creativity of Demna Gvasalia, whether he wants it or not, is related to kitsch, but this is not the kitsch that we are accustomed to, these are only its elements that have passed through the prism of the designer’s creative vision.
As a rule, Balenciaga’s collections do not have incompatible flashy colors or an overabundance of decor, but bold and daring accessories and references to the market allow us to say that this is kitsch reinvented.
And if not kitsch, then what? Let’s try to look at the issue from a different angle.
Does Demna Gvasalia Create a New Vanity Fair?
Subtle irony and sharp satire in the fashion collections of Balenciaga openly mock consumer society and exist on the verge of beauty and ugliness, resonating with the timeless vibe of Thackeray’s novel. Both Thackeray and Gvasalia realize that our everyday lives are subject to the laws of the market. The writer observes the world through dark glasses, while the fashion designer of Balenciaga moves forward armed with creativity and plays with different forms and textures.
Thackeray stigmatizes vices, stating that ‘All is vanity’. Gvasalia prefers to enjoy them for the same reason, that gives him an opportunity to transform prosaic things into luxury.
Just remember Demna’s Bazaar bag! All its models and versions are similar to the cheapest shoppers that can still be bought on the Asian market. Isn’t it a joke or a kind of provocation? One pays hundreds and thousands of dollars for a new look at something that has already set the teeth on edge or has never been considered from an aesthetic point of view.
Of course, it’s a kind of provocation. ‘All is vanity’! Demna plays with our desire to obtain a piece of luxury, and he does it masterfully. So we buy his bags, wait for the new Balenciaga collections, and hope he can surprise us again.
On the one hand, it sounds like a paradox. On the other hand, everything is rather predictable. Many fashion designers, beauty industry professionals, and perfumers know that consumers buy a ‘fairy tale’, not just a product. We need all the words, all the images that surround an item. We want an item to have its own story. And Demna gives us the story, doesn’t he?
Bazaar bag is a mix of nostalgia for the 90s and, at the same time, recognizable DNA code. No doubt, Demna likes fairy tales, as we do. Have you ever seen his fashion shows? There are no models on his catwalk, but characters. Some are monstrous and clumsy, like The Addams Family. Some are elegant and full of fatality. You see these characters from show to show. It’s not just the clothes that make them devilishly beautiful or ridiculously weird. Their individuality matters too.
All these characters are ready to wear his coats, trousers, gowns, and boots. This is how vanity manifests itself. But Balenciaga’s fair is a place of joy and delight, unlike Thackeray’s.
As for Demna’s irony, it is a complement to the brand in the most pleasant way. It’s like seasoning for the main dish. The Asian market on the shelf of a luxury boutique is something that fashion-mongers couldn’t even imagine, but it exists and will make history. Furthermore, streetwear, as well as the heritage of the mass market, pop culture, and even inspiration by the cheapest items, can be part of couture. Balenciaga seems to use all these not in vain but to flatter our vanity.
A Breath of Fresh Air
Revolutions in fashion don’t happen often. And thank God! Demna Gvasalia, however, has managed for many years to create a fashion revolution, of which we are all eyewitnesses and participants.
Kitsch, irony and vanity aside, what does the designer-led brand give us? New forms, at least. Before Demna, luxury was stagnating. This is not to say that fashion was boring, but predictable. Professionals could easily distinguish Chanel from Prada, but both fashion houses did not go beyond what was known about them twenty and thirty years ago. Fashion is still a little afraid of the street, although it strives to be closer to the people, to new silhouettes and new consumer needs.
Demna, fortunately for all of us, was not afraid to bring the ordinary, at times vulgar, into the luxury segment. The designer’s exaggeration and wonderful sense of humor make the brand truly outstanding, although stylists around the world still sometimes roll their eyes and openly declare: “It’s not clear how and what to wear it with.”
If new bags from Bottega Veneta or Gucci cause a happy pig squeal among influencers and fashionistas, the new Balenciaga bags, although they find their buyers, seem weird not only to ordinary people, but also to fashion industry experts.
Because not everyone understands irony? Or because Demna plays with fashion so boldly that it takes a little more time for us all to say unequivocally that fashion can manifest itself in this way? These are rhetorical questions. We shall see what we shall see.
In the meantime, you can enjoy Gvasalia’s muse – Renata Litvinova, an actress, director and model. She has long been part of the Balenciaga image. When you see her wearing the brand, it is not something monstrous, not something mocking the crowd, but the embodiment of elegance and impeccable taste.
