If no one was there, did it really happen? Balenciaga Spring 2022 collection asks us just that. Following on from creative director Demna Gvasalia's eccentric take and commentary on fashion and its presentations, Balenciaga Spring 2022 transports us to new virtual heights in questioning technology, reality and the oxymorons that come with.
A strong statement "we see our world through a filter - perfected, polished, conformed, photoshopped. We no longer decipher between unedited and altered, genuine and counterfeit, tangible and conceptual, fact and fiction, fake and deepfake," screened across opening its Spring 2022 show, setting the tone for what was to be anticipated.
Titled Balenciaga Clones Spring 2022, only one model walked the runway, cloned into 44 others to walk 44 looks, with an impressive otherworldly show complete with virtual ghosts as guests. Model and artist Eliza Douglas, who is soon becoming its biggest muse having opened and closed every show since Demna's arrival in 2015, was cloned, CG face scanned, digitally face grafted and rotoscoped in 44 other models, to the point of being indistinguishable from the real model to its fake.
Balenciaga commentates on the new digital world and our time of hyper reality. Working on video with Quentin Deronzier, the collection goes further to push fashions boundaries on questioning the values of fake and the counterfeit. Following on from Alessandro Michele's "Gucciaga", for Spring 2022 Demna continues on with Balenciaga, aligning its accessories with a continuation on its Hacker Project.
A unique and twisted humorous play on counterfeiting, the Spring 2022 collection stole the classic Gucci bag, replacing the signature GG monogram with reprinted BB's, blurring the lines of ownership with its line of accessories titled "This Is Not A Gucci Bag" to hit store in November 2021.
Always pushing to new heights, the full collection is available to view on balenciaga.com with more information and updates available throughout all official Balenciaga social channels.
