"Balenciaga is like Demna's extra-curricular activity," Vetements CEOGuram Gvasalia told Suzy Menkes in no uncertain terms at last weekend's Vogue Festival. Extra-curicular perhaps, but the historic Spanish house is where the designer's avant-garde concepts need to get serious.
While the white-hot Vetements clique don't like saying all that much about what they're up to, at Balenciaga Demna Gvasalia has to contend with the reality that his hyper-real Eastern bloc aesthetic, which plunders the dirtier corners of counter-culture, is now a luxury proposition. And one that needs to sell.
The phenomenal success of Vetements's stealth, street-styled approach has frustrated critics with its anti-commercial game plan, which includes a restricted supply chain, starving stores of their cult wares in order to make them all the more sought after. This strategy won't work for Balenciaga. Demna Gvasalia's debut designs for the historically sophisticated house will drop as a pre-fall collection in July, and hang in the windows of flagship boutiques around the world. His shoppers will be older and well monied, a gear up from the fresh-faced art-school students sinking their entire student loan into a one-off sweatshirt and competing for inclusion on the brand's Instagram feed. Prices are bound to be higher than Vetements's already jaw-dropping figures, as grown-ups who want to be a part of this new cool are willing to spend more, and Instagram less.
So, what will they buy? The codes of building a Gvasaliaga wardrobe (as for a Vetements wardrobe) are simple but effective. Full-look neon, full-look graphic Balenciaga checks, full-look florals, and full-leg boots. This is fashion with no half measures. The curvaceous Balenciaga silhouette comes through with a cocooning shearling stole (emblazoned with the epically large Balenciaga typeface), and the swaddling aviator jacket - both of which usher a frivolously dressed-up mood on to the street. While at Vetements the design collective appropriate and skew well-known logos (DHL, Champion…), at Balenciaga it's all about brash in-house wording. Fans will be sporting their allegiance upfront.
The first new-era Balenciaga collection is also overflowing with satisfyingly edgy styling cues that people, who can't spend upwards of £700 on a jersey hoodie, will still be able to take on to "get the look" - gold and silver sculptural jewellery layered over a skate sweater, for instance.
These more conservative items will reassure the powers behind the brand that it's not all about those expensive jersey sweaters
This first drop is also about showing the straighter side of Gvasalia's woman, though. For the pre-fall look book, Stella Tennant is photographed through a dark tunnel of garment bags for that very Vetements back-of-house mood, there are swimming-cap style beanie hats and bondage chains - but there are also pointy party heels, peplums, glistening jewellery and stoles, tuxedo jackets, nipped-in skirt suiting, and polite heritage checks that point to Balenciaga's upscale heritage.
The die-hard fans clamouring to get a first piece of the Gvasaliaga action probably aren't too fussed about heritage, but these more conservative items will reassure the powers behind the brand that it's not all about those expensive jersey sweaters.
These more conservative items will reassure the powers behind the brand that it's not all about those expensive jersey sweaters
This first drop is also about showing the straighter side of Gvasalia's woman, though. For the pre-fall look book, Stella Tennant is photographed through a dark tunnel of garment bags for that very Vetements back-of-house mood, there are swimming-cap style beanie hats and bondage chains - but there are also pointy party heels, peplums, glistening jewellery and stoles, tuxedo jackets, nipped-in skirt suiting, and polite heritage checks that point to Balenciaga's upscale heritage.
The die-hard fans clamouring to get a first piece of the Gvasaliaga action probably aren't too fussed about heritage, but these more conservative items will reassure the powers behind the brand that it's not all about those expensive jersey sweaters.
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