We at Tatler Asia are aware of the developing controversy surrounding Balenciaga and its recent ad campaign, which has made headlines on November 29. We debated internally over whether or not to proceed as planned with the publication of this interview, which has been in the works since July for inclusion in our December 2022 issue, and has therefore already gone to print. Ultimately, we decided that the message we want to send is that we stand behind our fashion director Cherry Mui and the efforts of the editorial team, and the hours they’ve put in over the months to get this interview and make this story happen.
In the spirit of transparency, we are releasing this feature online first with this message from us, and we hope that you, as our readers, understand that we in no way condone child exploitation and that we publish this in support of good journalism and solid editorial work.
Here is the article in full, as it is printed in Tatler’s December issue.
-Jacqueline Tsang, editor-in-chief, Tatler Hong Kong
“My plan is to try not to do anything for two weeks, and to enjoy Mediterranean sunsets with Lana del Rey music in the background,” Demna tells Tatler ahead of his summer holiday, a few weeks after presenting his second haute couture collection for Balenciaga in July.If you pay even the slightest attention to fashion business, you’ll know that, while much of the industry has struggled during the pandemic, Balenciaga gone from strength to strength. In 2019, its parent company Kering revealed that the French label was set to surpass €1 billion (approximately US$1.12 billion) in revenue; according to Bloomberg, it stood at an estimated US$2.3 billion in 2021. This seed of success was planted in 2015 when Kering approached Demna—who no longer uses his family name Gvasalia professionally, to separate his private self from his work persona—to lead the brand. Now, seven years into his tenure at Balenciaga, the Georgian designer has disrupted, if not fashion history, certainly the fashion of this generation.
Han So-hee in Balenciaga x Adidas campaign
Isabelle Huppert in Balenciaga x Adidas campaign
In the past two years, the house has launched a multitude of groundbreaking projects. It powered up in the gaming world with its line for popular video game Fortnite, as well as its autumn-winter 2021 collection release, which was presented as a game called Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow. The brand also blurred conventionally rigid boundaries through its crossovers and activations, including the Hacker Project with Gucci and the unveiling of its collaboration with Adidas at the New York Stock Exchange, not to mention launching an animated catwalk show, for which The Simpsons characters were cast as models.
He also popularised “ugly fashion” with the massive commercial success of his signature daddy sneakers and the rubbish bag-inspired trash pouch that made waves on social media. “I am bored of everything conventional; conventional means lazy to me,” he says. “I am interested in searching for beauty in everything, not in what society and history tells us is supposed to be considered beautiful.”
Balenciaga spring-summer 2022 show featuring The Simpsons (Photo: 2021 20th Television / Balenciaga)
Demna is constantly breaking the mould and forcing people to wonder, “What’s next?”. There is a smart irony behind every fashion stunt he pulls, leaving audiences confused as to whether he is joking or not. He intends to be the latter, and uses his creations to comment on social issues: the SS22 “Red Carpet” show riffed on celebrity and social media culture; AW22’s “360°” confronted climate change; and the extreme cheekbones of SS20 and beaten-up faces of SS23 alluded to an obsession with plastic surgery—and war.
In case you missed it: Let it Snow: Everything That Happened at the Balenciaga Autumn-Winter 2022 Show
Balenciaga autumn-winter 2022 collection
Balenciaga spring-summer 2023 collection
I am bored of everything conventional; conventional means lazy to me
By - Demna
The last few seasons have involved models’ faces being masked or shielded. This celebration of anonymity made for one of the most memorable fashion moments of 2021: Demna attended the Met Gala for the first time, alongside his most publicly loyal customer Kim Kardashian, both wearing outfits that completely covered their bodies and faces. “[Masks represent] fashion erasing identity; everyone becomes the same wearing what’s trendy and hot and ‘of the moment’,” he explains. “The mask is my tool for questioning the power or powerlessness of identity.”
Balenciaga is known for creating a new paradigm of inclusivity by casting real people on the runway and in campaigns, and its family of celebrity ambassadors is relatively new compared to other luxury brands. Justin Bieber, Elliot Page and Isabelle Huppert appeared in ad campaigns styled and photographed so that their star status never overshadowed the fashion—a subversive take on anonymity. “It [casting celebrities] is a metaphor for the mask. Many celebrities hide their identity behind those recognisable faces. I think it is an interesting parallel,” Demna says.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 13: Kim Kardashian West (R) and Demna Gvasalia attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue )
The designer’s audacious approach to deconstructing the fashion industry and its systems can be, at least in part, attributed to his history. As a child, he and his family fled the once-autonomous region of Abkhazia for the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, amid ethnic conflict caused by the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Demna identifies as “a forever refugee”, as he explained in the show notes of his AW22 collection, presented in March; the pain and fear he’d experienced were triggered when Russia invaded Ukraine mere days before the show. Demna was one of the first—and one of the few—designers to acknowledge the political situation through his work, a show of resistance against both that war and the climate crisis.
He followed this by announcing a round of donations to Ukraine in partnership with the World Food Programme and releasing T-shirts in the support of United 24, a charity initiative launched by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. The effort impacted him deeply. “[The] most memorable moment for me [this year] was recording a poem in Ukrainian for my show in March 2022. The happiest moment is every morning, waking up and being grateful,” he says. But showing his unexpected sense of humour again, he adds, “So far the most difficult decision [of the year] seems to have been the decision as to what to have for dinner tonight. I love to cook.”
The most significant change wrought by the designer, who obtained a master’s degree at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp and spent years at Maison Martin Margiela and Louis Vuitton at the end of the Marc Jacobs era, is the return of haute couture. In the autumn of 2021, Balenciaga held its first couture show since 1968, when its founder Cristóbal Balenciaga closed his ateliers and businesses because, as legend has it, he thought fashion had become too casual.
In what was the maison’s 50th couture presentation, models walked through restored Balenciaga couture salon at 10 Avenue George V in Paris, holding number cards in their hands—with no music in the background—just as they would have five decades ago. The show paid due respect to the master, with tributes to and modernisations of the couture archive: from a rigorously tailored orange skirt suit to the famed 1967 single-seam wedding gown.
Balenciaga 50th couture collection
Balenciaga 50th couture collection
It was a turning point for Demna, too; a chance to drop the label of streetwear designer—one compounded by his having founded the urban clothing label Vetements—and finally show his mastery of elegance, craftsmanship and tailoring. “I never had [designing couture] as my goal; I actually never thought I would want to do it. But once I started, I realised that it is the pinnacle of dressmaking, and that’s what I am most interested in,” he explains. “The difference between ready-to-wear and couture is that couture is a much deeper exploration of construction and pattern, a much more thorough study of how to make clothes. Ready-to-wear is more about creating a desirable product.”
Read more: All The Details You May Have Missed From The Balenciaga Couture Collection
Balenciaga’s 50th Couture Collection were presented for the first time in China in 2021 at TANK Shangha (Photo: Balenciaga)
That’s not to say his couture isn’t highly sought after. Last November, in spite of pandemic restrictions, his debut couture collection was sent to China and exhibited in the Tank Shanghai museum for a five-day event. This marked the first time that the exclusive creations had been shown outside Paris, as well as the first event staged in China by the Kering-owned brand—an obvious statement on the importance of the Chinese and Asian markets. “There are many young customers in Asia and globally who want to experience couture and who can afford to purchase it,” says Demna. “This makes me feel very hopeful about the future of couture; if we want the values of couture to live on, we must create a dialogue with Gen Z.”
Despite leaping into digital fashion early on, he has his doubts about couture going virtual. “We will one day see the digital wearables in the metaverse, this is for sure. But I do not believe in digital couture—it really is a perfectly IRL experience.” To support that notion, a new Balenciaga couture shop opened on Avenue George V thissummer, downstairs from the couture salon. As well as the traditional client appointments, certain limited-edition items such as the Bang & Olufsen Speaker Bag, souvenir porcelain figurines and the Balenciaga Candle are available there. “We wanted to create some kind of an ‘entrance gate’ into the couture. I want my couture to be accessible and immediate in some way. ”
Balenciaga couture store at 10 Avenue George V
If we want the values of couture to live on, we must create a dialogue with Gen Z
By - Demna
The store opened its doors right after the autumn couture 2022 show, which was as controversial and debate-worthy as ever, with hoodies, worn-out denim, sculptural, aluminium-infused jersey shirts and upcycled parkas sent down the runway. There were also more traditional pieces, such as a massive bell-shaped wedding gown with 250 metres of tulle that took 7,500 hours to embroider. For Demna’s Balenciaga universe, he also reinterpreted gazar, the stiff silk fabric that Balenciaga invented in 1958 to allow for architectural shapes, with futuristic neoprene. It is one of the many ways that Demna is bringing the modern vision of Balenciaga back to its sources of origin.
Towards the end of that show, A-listers Nicole Kidman, Dua Lipa and Demna’s faithful Kardashian friend walked alongside runway veterans Bella Hadid and Naomi Campbell in opulently tailored gowns. “Those pieces were really made for the person who wore them; each person was the inspiration for each garment,” he says. “There was nothing accidental.” Of the 59 creations, Demna’s favourite is the black dress worn by Danielle Slavik, a house model for Balenciaga himself in the 1960s. “It represents a tribute to the heritage of Balenciaga; she walked the couture show in the salons for the first time again since 1968.”
Nicole Kidman wearing look 56 from Balenciaga 51st Couture Collection
Bella Hadid wearing look 56 from Balenciaga 51st Couture Collection wearing look 52 from Balenciaga 51st Couture Collection
Dua Lipa wearing look 53 from Balenciaga 51st Couture Collection
Bella Hadid wearing look 54 from Balenciaga 51st Couture Collection
Naomi Campbell wearing look 57 from Balenciaga 51st Couture Collection
Balenciaga 51st Couture Collection Look 59
To round off the extravaganza of the 51st couture collection, the star-studded audience of celebs including Kidman, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jaime Xie and Alexa Demie attended a dinner at Hôtel de la Marine, where coronation balls were once held for Emperor Napoleon I and King Charles X. Everyone dressed in the true Balenciaga style, including Michelle Yeoh, in her first time working with the maison, who turned heads in her black taffeta gown.
In case you missed it: Michelle Yeoh Was the Surprise Star of Paris Couture Fashion Week
Michelle Yeohn attended dinner after the Balenciaga 51st Couture Show (Photo: Balenciaga)
Eileen Gu was one of the guests at Balenciaga 51st Couture Show
There is an irony in the contradiction between Demna’s future-looking collaborations and contemporary translations of the archives, and his refusal to engage with social media—his official Instagram page has 364,000 followers and no posts; “I still hate it.” He has found his voice in the last two years by taking a futuristic, disruptive approach to celebrating the past. “I am not nostalgic, but I love the poetry that relates to the past. I like the melancholia around it; it is pretty beautiful.”
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