For Balenciaga’s latest Cruise collection, Demna takes us to the streets — the one outside 10 Avenue George V, to be specific. Presenting the show as a five-minute video, the time-lapse clip captures life outside the iconic address, which Cristóbal Balenciaga referred to as “Le Dix,” where his legacy began in 1937.
The film — directed in one continuous shot by Mau Morgó and scored with BFRND’s rework of Édith Piaf’s “Sous le Ciel de Paris” — lenses the bustling façade in Paris, as “everyday people” go about their day. Coming in and out of the building, strutting past, driving — and even scootering — by, “Capital B” is a slice-of-life performance where everyone, even couriers and food delivery drivers, is fully-clad in Balenciaga, styled for the day-to-day. Even when the weather shifts to a dramatic downpour, the stylish Parisians don’t lose their sense of determination.
The collection itself is as compelling as the film.
Composed of two chapters: Garde-Robe (Balenciaga’s line of refined wardrobe essentials) and seasonal ready-to-wear components, Capital B sees Demna branching out after a more sober-toned show for Fall/Winter 2023 — his first collection since the Spring ’23 campaign controversies.
There were plenty of Demna signatures, with oversized suiting and coats, puffer jackets, hoodies and faded denim. Peppered through were subversive pieces that made one doubletake, telling us that the Georgian native was ready to laugh again.
As we’ve come to know, it’s the accessories in Demna’s collections that really showcase his sense of humor, always toeing the line between the absurd and cool with an animated curiosity. Whether it’s been through Vetements or his work at Balenciaga, the creative director has always demonstrated to us that even the most impeccably crafted fashion doesn’t need to be taken so seriously. Take his comically upturned Romeo mules, hyper-elongated clutch bags and towel-like skirts, which are indistinguishable from actual towels wrapped around the waist. The Rodeo boot bag really does look like a pair of leather boots dangling from the carrier’s arms, while the 24/7 bags would be just crochet market bags if not for all the rhinestones.
He even gives Birkenstocks the Balenciaga treatment, just as he did with Crocs. His take? A Birkenstock Boston clog shape with anatomic toe indents and large bolts along the side — sure to be all over your social feeds in no time.
All in all, Capital B presents us with a mischievous collection, laced with witty observations of the metropolitan in motion, as well as a few show-stopping gowns we’re eager to see on red carpets ASAP.
Scroll on to view the highlights from Balenciaga Resort 2024, “Capital B.”
