Demna Gvasalia Assembles A Diverse Cast To Model His Wearable Ballgowns

For the first Balenciaga show since the news broke that Demna Gvasalia had stepped down from Vetements – the streetwear juggernaut that propelled him to the helm of the Paris legacy brand – the creative director enlisted a cast of models from a variety of career paths to represent beauty standards of today, the past, and the future.

Architects, mechanical engineers, art collectors, private equity associates, language teachers, hotel cleaners, gymnasts, musicians, chefs, and students studying a variety of disciplines walked alongside models wearing Gvasalia’s “New Fashion Uniforms” down an EU-blue circular catwalk.

Seamless tailoring, voluminous pillow parkas and fetish gowns made from negligee-like lace were all highlights Gvasalia touched upon in his show notes, in addition to the latest Balenciaga sneaker. Expect a wait list for the Tyrex, “made with a sinuous network of athletic elements to form the silhouette of a classic office shoe”, to form pronto.

It was looks 87 to 91, worn by nursing student Amanda Hermansson; free-diver and model Astrid Holler; and artists Charlie Osborne, Natalie Zhuk and Eliza Douglas; that will no doubt send the internet into overdrive. The five bustier ballroom dresses – two in pleated silver and gold Lurex with oversized bows on the back, and three in bonded velvet to be worn over a crinoline, or casually – referenced the couture house’s legacy, according to Gvasalia, who was optimistic the voluminous silhouettes could be “worn in any setting”. For now, those Disney princess gowns that undulated as the models swished down the runway will live on social media, leaving us to wonder what else the trendsetter has in mind for Balenciaga’s new dawn of modern evening wear.