Fashion Week

Balenciaga’s Fall/Winter 2024 Collection Meets the Metaverse

Balenciaga's Fall/Winter 2024 collection channels a meta-virtual reality through layering.

pmcarc rtw fall 2024 pfw balenciaga topics paris fashion dress formal wear gown adult female person woman evening dress runway

After channeling the LA cool girl lifestyle for its Pre-Fall 2024 collection in Los Angeles, Balenciaga marked a return with their Fall 2024 collection in Paris, which transported the runway into a dystopian meta-virtual reality blended with the trappings of everyday life. The collection was presented against a backdrop of influencer-esque video reels, and animated sunsets, over mountaintops. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Demna Balenciaga show without appearances from brand ambassador Kim Kardashian, and the likes of Serena Williams in the front row. 

The collection gradually became more and more dystopian, beginning with a selection of bustier and cape gowns (classically cut, and scantily clad Balenciaga dresses) to oversized faux fur coats with the fur collar puffed up to emphasize against the neck. Perhaps, the most meta component to the ready-to-wear clothing is how layering was utilized in a non-traditional sartorial fashion: denim pants were designed to be worn as tops, a backpack turned into a shirt while a mini bag became a skirt, an entire bustier gown was made from a hodgepodge of bras to messy patched dresses and sets, and literal tape wrapped around tailored jacket blazers and casual day tops. 

Not to mention, there was a Y2K callback by how tank tops and camis were layered over an array of long and short sleeved shirts. The show even prominently featured a Planet Earth logo t-shirt and an Ebay fitted turtleneck dress over a pair of jogger pants that further displayed how the virtual age is now entangled with real life. A majority of the models were accessorized with black Balenciaga insignia beanies worn over their eyes as they walked the show, and the French Fashion house took their signature mask sunglasses and over-exaggerated them into headgear that looked reminiscent of black and white virtual reality headsets. 

1 / 68

Tags

Recommended posts for you