Latest news with #CristóbalBalenciaga
Fashion Network
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Fashion Network
Balenciaga: Demna bids farewell with Hollywood glamour
Bringing down the curtains on a decade of intense creativity, designer Demna bid farewell to Balenciaga with a final collection that riffed on Hollywood glamour, intermingling the famed house's codes. As noted, Demna will join Gucci, becoming the new creative director in Milan, a position held by the largest label in Kering, the luxury conglomerate that also owns Balenciaga. The show was staged inside Balenciaga's couture atelier on Avenue George V, where limousines edged through huge crowds to the entrance. Fans went wild as Nicole Kidman, Katy Perry, Salma Hayek, Kyle MacLachlan, Justine Skye and Cardi B, who appeared as a vampish widow in black lace and a massive Cruella wig, entered the front door. Inside, brand ambassador Kim Kardashian walked the show in a " Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" ivory slip dress, a white feather "fur" coat and a ginormous necklace. It turned out to be Elizabeth Taylor's most iconic personal diamond pendant earrings from Los Angeles-based jeweler Lorraine Schwartz 's private collection, an ode to Taylor, in Demna's words. The Georgia-born couturier riffed on Cristóbal Balenciaga's oeuvre—most charmingly with a revamped houndstooth ensemble worn by the founder's fetish model Danielle back in 1967. A look that evoked his grandma's kitchen tablecloth from his childhood, Demna insisted. While his obsession with the Golden Age of Hollywood led to a black sequined "Diva" gown inspired by Marilyn Monroe, as well as a pink "Debutante" princess dress crafted from the world's lightest technical organza at the finale. "This collection is the perfect way for me to finish my decade at Balenciaga. I have come as close as possible to being satisfied in this endless pursuit of impossible perfection—the defining ethos of Cristóbal Balenciaga," opined Demna in his program notes. Notably, he played a great deal with reengineered corsetry designed to be comfortable and not restrictive. And after taking a rare bow, he revealed that his starting point for the collection was the dress codes of "la bourgeoisie." Severe tailoring for women with tulip lapels that soared around the face, or coats with high-collared Medici- and Nosferatu-esque necklines. His Marianne—or couture bride—was model Eliza in a seamless Guipure lace gown shaped with millinery techniques—in a surprisingly minimalist statement. "It's my love affair with Paris, where I have lived for 15 years, longer than in my home country, Georgia. It's a place that I love and hate," he confessed, standing before a mood board where the cast had been shot around Paris—from the Eiffel Tower to Île Saint-Louis. In a co-ed show, he teamed up with four family-run tailors from Naples, developing signature unstructured Neapolitan shirt-jackets. He sent a bodybuilder buddy to Naples four times to create a giant suit, which was then multiplied nine times in various fabrics and worn by a cast of male characters, including Demna's partner, a sylvain, slim, androgynous figure. "The tailors are used to making suits for men with big bellies, so it was quite a challenge... I wanted to show that it is not the garment that defines the body, but the body that defines the garment," insisted Demna in a packed backstage. He added to the Tinsel Town moment by commissioning Schwartz to create over 1,000 carats of custom-made high jewelry with white diamonds, natural emeralds, Padparadscha sapphires, pink diamonds and canary-yellow diamonds to accessorize the collection. Meanwhile, briefcases were reinvented as a new slim-line "jewelry box" laptop case. In an elegant gesture, most of the soundtrack was the reading of the first names of all his atelier and staff, ending with Demna, "bien sûr"—a gesture that left many of his team in tears. Asked about his next step at Gucci, he was voluble: "What I learned is when you come to a brand with heritage and codes, you are either very lucky and you have abundant codes you can modernize or make relevant. Or the codes are restrictive, and I have to say I love Balenciaga, but the codes at Balenciaga are not in proportion to the type of business it has become. So, for ten years, I had to use the cocoon and hourglass, but that was not enough, so I had to integrate a lot of Demna codes into this house." "Whereas for my next chapter, I have the luxury of having lots of different codes I have never used to build on. And that's something that excites me a lot. That's one of the reasons I am so excited. I am a cool guy; I am a chef, so if I have more ingredients to make a dish, it makes it very exciting," he concluded.
Fashion Network
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Fashion Network
Balenciaga: Demna bids farewell with Hollywood glamour
Bringing down the curtains on a decade of intense creativity, designer Demna bid farewell to Balenciaga with a final collection that riffed on Hollywood glamour, intermingling the famed house's codes. As noted, Demna will join Gucci, becoming the new creative director in Milan, a position held by the largest label in Kering, the luxury conglomerate that also owns Balenciaga. The show was staged inside Balenciaga's couture atelier on Avenue George V, where limousines edged through huge crowds to the entrance. Fans went wild as Nicole Kidman, Katy Perry, Salma Hayek, Kyle MacLachlan, Justine Skye and Cardi B, who appeared as a vampish widow in black lace and a massive Cruella wig, entered the front door. Inside, brand ambassador Kim Kardashian walked the show in a " Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" ivory slip dress, a white feather "fur" coat and a ginormous necklace. It turned out to be Elizabeth Taylor's most iconic personal diamond pendant earrings from Los Angeles-based jeweler Lorraine Schwartz 's private collection, an ode to Taylor, in Demna's words. The Georgia-born couturier riffed on Cristóbal Balenciaga's oeuvre—most charmingly with a revamped houndstooth ensemble worn by the founder's fetish model Danielle back in 1967. A look that evoked his grandma's kitchen tablecloth from his childhood, Demna insisted. While his obsession with the Golden Age of Hollywood led to a black sequined "Diva" gown inspired by Marilyn Monroe, as well as a pink "Debutante" princess dress crafted from the world's lightest technical organza at the finale. "This collection is the perfect way for me to finish my decade at Balenciaga. I have come as close as possible to being satisfied in this endless pursuit of impossible perfection—the defining ethos of Cristóbal Balenciaga," opined Demna in his program notes. Notably, he played a great deal with reengineered corsetry designed to be comfortable and not restrictive. And after taking a rare bow, he revealed that his starting point for the collection was the dress codes of "la bourgeoisie." Severe tailoring for women with tulip lapels that soared around the face, or coats with high-collared Medici- and Nosferatu-esque necklines. His Marianne—or couture bride—was model Eliza in a seamless Guipure lace gown shaped with millinery techniques—in a surprisingly minimalist statement. "It's my love affair with Paris, where I have lived for 15 years, longer than in my home country, Georgia. It's a place that I love and hate," he confessed, standing before a mood board where the cast had been shot around Paris—from the Eiffel Tower to Île Saint-Louis. In a co-ed show, he teamed up with four family-run tailors from Naples, developing signature unstructured Neapolitan shirt-jackets. He sent a bodybuilder buddy to Naples four times to create a giant suit, which was then multiplied nine times in various fabrics and worn by a cast of male characters, including Demna's partner, a sylvain, slim, androgynous figure. "The tailors are used to making suits for men with big bellies, so it was quite a challenge... I wanted to show that it is not the garment that defines the body, but the body that defines the garment," insisted Demna in a packed backstage. He added to the Tinsel Town moment by commissioning Schwartz to create over 1,000 carats of custom-made high jewelry with white diamonds, natural emeralds, Padparadscha sapphires, pink diamonds and canary-yellow diamonds to accessorize the collection. Meanwhile, briefcases were reinvented as a new slim-line "jewelry box" laptop case. In an elegant gesture, most of the soundtrack was the reading of the first names of all his atelier and staff, ending with Demna, "bien sûr"—a gesture that left many of his team in tears. Asked about his next step at Gucci, he was voluble: "What I learned is when you come to a brand with heritage and codes, you are either very lucky and you have abundant codes you can modernize or make relevant. Or the codes are restrictive, and I have to say I love Balenciaga, but the codes at Balenciaga are not in proportion to the type of business it has become. So, for ten years, I had to use the cocoon and hourglass, but that was not enough, so I had to integrate a lot of Demna codes into this house." "Whereas for my next chapter, I have the luxury of having lots of different codes I have never used to build on. And that's something that excites me a lot. That's one of the reasons I am so excited. I am a cool guy; I am a chef, so if I have more ingredients to make a dish, it makes it very exciting," he concluded.
Fashion Network
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Fashion Network
Balenciaga: Demna bids farewell with Hollywood glamour
Bringing down the curtains on a decade of intense creativity, designer Demna bid farewell to Balenciaga with a final collection that riffed on Hollywood glamour, intermingling the famed house's codes. As noted, Demna will join Gucci, becoming the new creative director in Milan, a position held by the largest label in Kering, the luxury conglomerate that also owns Balenciaga. The show was staged inside Balenciaga's couture atelier on Avenue George V, where limousines edged through huge crowds to the entrance. Fans went wild as Nicole Kidman, Katy Perry, Salma Hayek, Kyle MacLachlan, Justine Skye and Cardi B, who appeared as a vampish widow in black lace and a massive Cruella wig, entered the front door. Inside, brand ambassador Kim Kardashian walked the show in a " Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" ivory slip dress, a white feather "fur" coat and a ginormous necklace. It turned out to be Elizabeth Taylor's most iconic personal diamond pendant earrings from Los Angeles-based jeweller Lorraine Schwartz 's private collection, an ode to Taylor, in Demna's words. The Georgia-born couturier riffed on Cristóbal Balenciaga's oeuvre—most charmingly with a revamped houndstooth ensemble worn by the founder's fetish model Danielle back in 1967. A look that evoked his grandma's kitchen tablecloth from his childhood, Demna insisted. While his obsession with the Golden Age of Hollywood led to a black sequined "Diva" gown inspired by Marilyn Monroe, as well as a pink "Debutante" princess dress crafted from the world's lightest technical organza at the finale. "This collection is the perfect way for me to finish my decade at Balenciaga. I have come as close as possible to being satisfied in this endless pursuit of impossible perfection—the defining ethos of Cristóbal Balenciaga," opined Demna in his program notes. Notably, he played a great deal with reengineered corsetry designed to be comfortable and not restrictive. And after taking a rare bow, he revealed that his starting point for the collection was the dress codes of "la bourgeoisie." Severe tailoring for women with tulip lapels that soared around the face, or coats with high-collared Medici- and Nosferatu-esque necklines. His Marianne—or couture bride—was model Eliza in a seamless Guipure lace gown shaped with millinery techniques—in a surprisingly minimalist statement. "It's my love affair with Paris, where I have lived for 15 years, longer than in my home country, Georgia. It's a place that I love and hate," he confessed, standing before a mood board where the cast had been shot around Paris—from the Eiffel Tower to Île Saint-Louis. In a co-ed show, he teamed up with four family-run tailors from Naples, developing signature unstructured Neapolitan shirt-jackets. He sent a bodybuilder buddy to Naples four times to create a giant suit, which was then multiplied nine times in various fabrics and worn by a cast of male characters, including Demna's partner, a sylvain, slim, androgynous figure. "The tailors are used to making suits for men with big bellies, so it was quite a challenge... I wanted to show that it is not the garment that defines the body, but the body that defines the garment," insisted Demna in a packed backstage. He added to the Tinsel Town moment by commissioning Schwartz to create over 1,000 carats of custom-made high jewellery with white diamonds, natural emeralds, Padparadscha sapphires, pink diamonds and canary-yellow diamonds to accessorise the collection. Meanwhile, briefcases were reinvented as a new slim-line "jewellery box" laptop case. In an elegant gesture, most of the soundtrack was the reading of the first names of all his atelier and staff, ending with Demna, "bien sûr"—a gesture that left many of his team in tears. Asked about his next step at Gucci, he was voluble: "What I learned is when you come to a brand with heritage and codes, you are either very lucky and you have abundant codes you can modernise or make relevant. Or the codes are restrictive, and I have to say I love Balenciaga, but the codes at Balenciaga are not in proportion to the type of business it has become. So, for ten years, I had to use the cocoon and hourglass, but that was not enough, so I had to integrate a lot of Demna codes into this house." "Whereas for my next chapter, I have the luxury of having lots of different codes I have never used to build on. And that's something that excites me a lot. That's one of the reasons I am so excited. I am a cool guy; I am a chef, so if I have more ingredients to make a dish, it makes it very exciting," he concluded.
Forbes
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Pierpaolo Piccioli Named New Balenciaga Creative Director
Pierpaolo Piccioli, the new Creative Director of Balenciaga Pierpaolo Piccioli made romantic, culturally-rich waves at Valentino. He was the brand's creative director from 2008 to 2024, redefining what it means to be a modern day courtuier. But now that he has been appointed as the Creative Director of Balenciaga starting July 10, what does this mean for Balenciaga, which has become a sort of art house brand with conceptual statements that may better fit on a podium of the Museum of Modern Art? Who can forget the 2023 'towel skirt' that was wrapped around the waist? Or the trash bag pouch made of calfskin leather, or their IKEA look-alike tote bag in bright blue. Or the many renditions of their Pant Boots, from the classic black to the thigh-high stocking style, which triggered adverse reactions. Not to mention their headline-grabbing controversies, like when they went too far and had to apologize for an advertising campaign with children holding teddy bears in bondage, which many said went too far. But how will Piccioli restore the brand to a traditional European design house after Demna Gvasalia's experimental years, which brought pop culture and streetwear into the high fashion brand's luxury ethos? How will he redefine Baleciaga's accessories, namely their handbags, shoes and jewelry? And how will Piccioli shape Balenciaga's vision with that Valentino touch, while remaining in line with the legacy of Cristóbal Balenciaga and his historic Parisian fashion house? As he wrote in a public letter regarding his appointment, Piccioli recalls a moment on Instagram. 'Every new story has a lot to do with the path that brought us there, the humans we are now and the experiences we have already lived. I'm not a big fan of predestination but as I was scrolling my personal IG page, I realised that the very first picture I've uploaded was the 1967 wedding ensemble by Cristóbal Balenciaga. Don't know if I should take it as a sign, what I know is that now I can see the bigger picture. Being here today, to mold a new story of a house where creativity has always been a culture and innovation a science, makes me feel honoured and proud to continue the story that who came before me already told with respect and assertive points of view.' He also explained how he is starting a new chapter at the brand: 'Balenciaga is what it is today thanks to all the people who have paved the way,' adding that 'This gives me the chance to shape a new version of the maison, adding another chapter with a new story. My chapter of the House of Balenciaga. I am grateful for the trust that François-Henri, Francesca and Gianfranco are giving me. We were effortlessly on the same page from the start, and that is the best way to start something new. Work is done by people and the way people feel within the work is the only thing that matters.' The first Balenciaga collection under Piccioli's creative direction will be unveiled in October 2025.
Vogue Singapore
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Vogue Singapore
Proof that Pierpaolo Piccioli is already fluent in Balenciaga-isms
The fashion industry is united in acknowledging Cristóbal Balenciaga as a designer like no other. His technical prowess resulted in designs that became ever more flawless as time went on. Writing in 1967, the year the Spanish couturier retired, UPI reporter Aline Mosby put it this way: 'The clothes of Balenciaga…looked like an ironing board headed into the wind. It was that smooth look, every seam a masterpiece, the flat surfaces with hardly a dent to show even the bosom, the faultless construction, the hunched-over curve, that made Balenciaga—without question—the world's greatest living creator of women's clothing.' Pierpaolo Piccioli will be the fifth designer to pick up the great man's mantle, following Michel Goma, Nicolas Ghesquière, Alexander Wang, and Demna. The pairings below, which place the Italian designer's work next to that of Balenciaga, suggest he is well suited for the job. His joy in colour is grounded in designs that have rigour. Valentino, spring 2018 couture Marcus Tondo Gift wrapped: Stella Oakes in Cristóbal Balenciaga's white satin gown with a red taffeta bow. Cecil Beaton In a conversation earlier today, Piccioli recalled that the very first image he posted on Instagram was Balenciaga's famous wedding dress of 1967, a bias-cut oval of gazar and coal-scuttle hat that is a study in simple elegance and the manifestation of the couturier's belief that 'elegance is elimination.' Piccioli saw this marvel, which he describes as a 'masterpiece of the history of fashion,' on display in the Costume Institute's 'Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination' exhibition at The Met. Balenciaga, he said, is 'probably one of the first minimalists, and that dress, to me, is a manifesto of what Brancusi was saying: Simplicity is complexity resolved, which is also my manifesto when I work. So I resaw this post, and even if I'm not a fan of predestination, I felt there was something. Sometimes we have to go where, unaware, we are going already.' It certainly feels like Piccioli is embarking on a golden off-to-meet-the-Wizard moment. David Bailey 1 / 21 More than minimal: Cristóbal Balenciaga's silk gazar wedding ensemble Courtesy of Moncler 1 Pierpaolo Piccioli 2 / 21 Moncler x Pierpaolo Piccioli, fall 2018 ready-to-wear Yannis Vlamos 3 / 21 Valentino, fall 2018 couture Frances McLaughlin-Gill 4 / 21 From Cristóbal Balenciaga: 'Evening white swept with red.' White satin dress and red velvet stole Carl Erickson 5 / 21 Goya-inspired dresses by Cristóbal Balenciaga Courtesy of Valentino 6 / 21 Valentino, spring 2022 couture Courtesy of Valentino 7 / 21 Valentino, fall 2023 couture Irving Penn 8 / 21 A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose. Susan Murray wears Cristóbal Balenciaga's black crepe dinner dress with black gazar rose headdress Bettmann 9 / 21 Diana Vreeland with Cristóbal Balenciaga's famous one-seam coat Salvatore Dragone 10 / 21 Valentino, fall 2021 ready-to-wear Courtesy of Valentino 11 / 21 Valentino, spring 2024 couture John Rawlings 12 / 21 B is for bolero and balloon and Balenciaga Carl Erickson 13 / 21 Nineteenth-century-inspired looks by Cristóbal Balenciaga Courtesy of Moncler 14 / 21 Moncler x Pierpaolo Piccioli, fall 2019 ready-to-wear 15 / 21 Valentino, spring 2023 couture Intercontinetale 16 / 21 Cristóbal Balenciaga stripes it rich, 1955 Getty 17 / 21 Belle feather: Cristóbal Balenciaga's marabou-trimmed sheath, 1957 Salvatore Dragone 18 / 21 Valentino, fall 2021 ready-to-wear Courtesy of Balenciaga 19 / 21 Balenciaga by Demna, fall 2021 couture Clifford Coffin 20 / 21 She's the tops: A model wears Cristóbal Balenciaga's feathered hat Filippo Fior 21 / 21 Valentino, fall 2021 couture This article was first published on
