Last season, Balenciaga’s Demna Gvasalia gifted us all with what ELLE UK's Kenya Hunt dubbed ‘The Everything Coat’.
Seemingly comprised of layers of anoraks, hoodies, parkas and more, this mille-feuille of outerwear was an instant hit.
Both fabulously meme-able in the form of Joey Tribbiani’s hilarious prank on Chandler Bing in Friends, as well as surprisingly useful (winter is
coming) and dupe-able (try copying with a hoody, raincoat and puffer
jacket combo) the now-iconic coat gained a place in the growing roster
of hit Balenciaga pieces.
This year it was announced that Balenciaga is the fastest-growing label at Kering, and this is no-doubt down to Gvasalia’s millennial-loved iconic items. His Speed and Triple S trainers have been the sneakers to own
for the last two years, and many are predicting the same popularity for
the slimmed-down Track, notable for it’s high-tech aesthetic.
Reflecting the shift from the chunkier Triple S to
the streamlined Track, Balenciaga’s SS19 show was a high-tech
presentation of slender silhouettes.
A vast
departure from the much-loved Everything Coat for SS19 models skulked
down a hi-tech video installation tunnel designed by Jon Rafman wearing
what Gvasalia dubs as 'neo-tailoring'.
'The Balenciaga show always proposes a shake-up moment and Demna’s
latest offering didn’t fail to deliver', said ELLE UK’s Cat Callendar.
'It explored modern notions of glamour and elegance - both themes that
have been hotly debated at the shows during Paris.'
The designer also offered a thoroughly fresh take
on tailoring, designed to appeal to Balenciaga’s new Millennial
audience: 'It’s what I call Neo-tailoring because it’s something new in
tailoring that is actually comfortable,' said Gvasalia post-show.
'There
are no shoulder pads or epaulettes. You don’t need to wear a shirt
because the shirt has transformed into a jacket. So it takes away those
obligations of a classical suit.'
Coat-cum-dresses, 90's suits and mini dresses all
simple, and one-layer-thick show that the Vetements designer needs no
gimmicks to make good clothes. In fact, dialling it right back for SS19,
Gvasalia proves, once again, his sometimes flashy-fashion has more than
enough stripped-back substance.
