Tailoring is deconstructed and reconstructed from pants, furthering an experimentation with hybridity.
Balenciaga launched its fall 2023 collection with images of models in a Balenciaga store dressing room taking selfies, wearing and surrounded by pieces that make up the collection: new and updated signature pieces, innovative accessories, and studies in the realms of tailoring and sustainability.
Much of the jewelry, eyewear, and outerwear shells are made with recycled elements, including silver, polyester, nylon, and polyamide, or with bio-based materials. The collection is available in stores and balenciaga.com.
Balenciaga puffer, biker, skater, and varsity jackets are reinvented, experimenting with volume and materiality. Parkas become wraps and gilets; peacoats and trenches are cropped and folded under; suit jackets or shirts are enlarged and doubled over or padded, creating several reconstructed silhouettes.
Sweaters include integrated gloves or are made without seams. Casual separates like tracksuits, trousers, hoodies, and T-shirts are seen in distinctive proportions and elevated fabrics, like mirror satin, fluid velvet, bleached molleton, soft leather, and rubberized mesh. Jeans are tailored with organic Japanese, indigo ring Italian or soft lefthand twill denim.
Balenciaga presented its winter 2023 collection in a minimalistic space enveloped in toile. Tailoring is deconstructed and reconstructed from pants, placing inverted waists at hems, or recasting them as cuffs, furthering an experimentation with hybridity. Pants are doubled, with legs draped over legs to create fluid motion. These concepts are applied to classic separates as well, in denim, leather, and outerwear cotton.
With inflatable forms sewn into their linings, a zip-up hoodie, a biker jacket, a tracksuit, and a puffer are reconstituted, transforming the body’s dimensions with reference to extreme athletics. Draped and gathered gowns in silk georgette are made dramatically asymmetrical, proposing new volumes.
Floral print plissé dresses in leather and lightweight textile, animal print leather trenches, and small-fit sweatsuits in jersey or velour are reconfigured to accentuate shoulders, creating a pronounced, rounded silhouette.
This shape, derived from Balenciaga Couture, translates to eveningwear as well, with floor-length gowns that are meticulously sequined, crystal-studded, layered with beaded fringe, knit with sparkling yarns, lace embroidered, hand-embellished with single drops of silicon, or cast in velvet, and tied at the waist with a satin bow.
The Huge Bag and an evolution of the Crush Bag are introduced in soft leather. The Biker Boot, a design based on motocross footwear, is seen with extreme sport detail and in monochrome. The Anatomic Boot traces the foot’s curvature and toes, in tube knit or spandex.
In the Philippines, Balenciaga is exclusively distributed by Stores Specialists, Inc., and is located at Greenbelt 5 and Shangri-la Plaza East Wing. Visit www.ssilife.com.ph or follow @ssilifeph on Instagram for more information.
