Honestly I would love a return to more couture collections making incredible clothes that look amazing on the female form. Can be avant garde or sculptural but it seems lately like some collections are all about club wear or something that only looks good on the very thin.
Yes! That’s exactly why I looked forward to the Valentino Couture shows. The clothes were always beautiful and technically quite advanced just as Balenciaga, the couturier, was in his time. Now much of couture is conceptual for the sake of press attention.
same. it's so crazy because I recently looked into the history of Balenciaga because I thought to myself... how did we get here? lol. I have a friend who is a Balenci Babe, which is what prompted the research in the first place, and while I could see the overlap perhaps of "pushing the envelope," I remembered thinking.. this ain't it.
Hi Myris and welcome to Substack! Thanks for your comment. I'm thinking about doing a post on Cristóbal Balenciaga, the man. He was such a legendary couturier and I fear that all the people walking around with the branded merch have no idea who the person behind the name is. Let me know if that is of interest to you! And special thanks for familiarizing me with the term Balenci Babe!
Hi Jolain! Yes that’s something that interests me very much. In terms of fashion history, I’m definitely a novice, but when I do take it upon myself to do some research, I’m sometimes astonished to see where houses started and what’s going on now. It always highlights the insane responsibility of the creative director to honour the legacy, while driving the brand forward. I think an article about Balenciaga would be so, so good because there is such a difference between what was going on then and what we see today. Especially with all the controversy that surrounds the brand, it being quasi cancelled for that period of time… whew.. yes… please write that! ahaha I would be so interested!
On the subject of suede and a little hint on those who love a good vintage find...back in the 2000s, Gap made high quality leather goods. Less than two weeks ago I was in London and scored a vintage Gap biker jacket in cream suede. It is made of some of the most soft, lightweight, and comfortable suede I've ever felt. I am already on the hunt for a Gap suede in dark brown.
Strong agree on Balenciaga. And I don't believe it's even a simple question of taste; what irks me about Demna's Balenciaga is it glamorizes cosplaying as homeless for the 1% by someone who lives in Switzerland of all places, hell-bent on asserting himself as 'pushing the envelope'. Like why do people fawn over this? Appropriating working classes for their exploitation is so not o.g. Balenciaga. I agree with Myris: this aint it.
Hi Caitlin, Demna's early Balenciaga collections were a lot more interesting with new ideas that pushed fashion forward. More and more he's relied on shock value to stay relevant. What irks me is the fashion press usually takes the bait. I'm of the belief that a luxury house should make luxury clothes that people actually wear. Remember Michelle Obama rocking a Balenciaga look? As a design student I learned about Cristobal Balenciaga, a couturier of great integrity, skill and talent for his craft. Demna has no respect for that.
BTW happy to have found you, I love your newsletter and just subscribed.
Totally agree! It’s actually quite shocking now to look back at his early collections which had a lot more nuance. Thank you for subscribing too- happy to have found you! ✨
Agree on Balenciaga.
Thanks for that Alessandra! He’s far too talented to not continue his work and Balenciaga seems to be such a natural fit!
Honestly I would love a return to more couture collections making incredible clothes that look amazing on the female form. Can be avant garde or sculptural but it seems lately like some collections are all about club wear or something that only looks good on the very thin.
Yes! That’s exactly why I looked forward to the Valentino Couture shows. The clothes were always beautiful and technically quite advanced just as Balenciaga, the couturier, was in his time. Now much of couture is conceptual for the sake of press attention.
same. it's so crazy because I recently looked into the history of Balenciaga because I thought to myself... how did we get here? lol. I have a friend who is a Balenci Babe, which is what prompted the research in the first place, and while I could see the overlap perhaps of "pushing the envelope," I remembered thinking.. this ain't it.
Hi Myris and welcome to Substack! Thanks for your comment. I'm thinking about doing a post on Cristóbal Balenciaga, the man. He was such a legendary couturier and I fear that all the people walking around with the branded merch have no idea who the person behind the name is. Let me know if that is of interest to you! And special thanks for familiarizing me with the term Balenci Babe!
Hi Jolain! Yes that’s something that interests me very much. In terms of fashion history, I’m definitely a novice, but when I do take it upon myself to do some research, I’m sometimes astonished to see where houses started and what’s going on now. It always highlights the insane responsibility of the creative director to honour the legacy, while driving the brand forward. I think an article about Balenciaga would be so, so good because there is such a difference between what was going on then and what we see today. Especially with all the controversy that surrounds the brand, it being quasi cancelled for that period of time… whew.. yes… please write that! ahaha I would be so interested!
I'll do, may take a week or two, but be on the lookout!
On the subject of suede and a little hint on those who love a good vintage find...back in the 2000s, Gap made high quality leather goods. Less than two weeks ago I was in London and scored a vintage Gap biker jacket in cream suede. It is made of some of the most soft, lightweight, and comfortable suede I've ever felt. I am already on the hunt for a Gap suede in dark brown.
Strong agree on Balenciaga. And I don't believe it's even a simple question of taste; what irks me about Demna's Balenciaga is it glamorizes cosplaying as homeless for the 1% by someone who lives in Switzerland of all places, hell-bent on asserting himself as 'pushing the envelope'. Like why do people fawn over this? Appropriating working classes for their exploitation is so not o.g. Balenciaga. I agree with Myris: this aint it.
Hi Caitlin, Demna's early Balenciaga collections were a lot more interesting with new ideas that pushed fashion forward. More and more he's relied on shock value to stay relevant. What irks me is the fashion press usually takes the bait. I'm of the belief that a luxury house should make luxury clothes that people actually wear. Remember Michelle Obama rocking a Balenciaga look? As a design student I learned about Cristobal Balenciaga, a couturier of great integrity, skill and talent for his craft. Demna has no respect for that.
BTW happy to have found you, I love your newsletter and just subscribed.
Totally agree! It’s actually quite shocking now to look back at his early collections which had a lot more nuance. Thank you for subscribing too- happy to have found you! ✨
What a beautiful newsletter. The images are spectacular.
Thank you so much Patti! Glad you enjoyed it.