FALL 2020

FALL 20 – COLLECTION NOTE

The newest offering from Balenciaga combines elements of a contemporary active lifestyle and the eccentricities found in the everyday.

Interested in the aesthetics of gym and loungewear, these separates and accessories relocate the private to a public sphere and vice versa, while extrapolating on the themes and thoughts of previous seasons. The result is a collection of athletic eveningwear, niche basics, unbranded statement pieces, and comfortable new ideas.

Balenciaga-branded Gymwear, baggy tailored suits, and flare-heeled pumps are put on the same plane, to be worn at once, for any ordinary interaction, each representative of a new subculture. A fringed t-shirt dress, overprinted denim, or soled Market Slippers exhibit a type of day-to-night transition, never firmly in one phase more than the other.

Three new sneaker styles are introduced. The Drive, an iteration of the Track, is stripped of any extraneous material, becoming a sleek, flat-soled sneaker. The Zen, inspired in equal parts by the footwear of martial artists and football players, is an all-new line of gym shoes. The Track Sandal reconstructs the chunky-soled sneaker as open-toed, adjusting its comfort levels with Velcro closures and a lighter weight.
The Tyrex, introduced in the Summer 20 runway show, weaves athletic components into a dance shoe silhouette, creating an idea outside of either genre. The Tractor Derby, too, circles one classic shape with another.

The expected shapes of workwear, party dresses, pea coats, and skirt sets are elongated, deconstructed, twisted, and/or turned upside down, with diagonal seams, uneven hemlines, stacked pockets, and flipped collar details left in place to give the inversions away.

Bags, coats, and jackets are designed with sustainability and practicality in mind: the Neo Tote, Trade Tote, Buckle Bag, and the Weekend bottle holder react to an ever-present need for transporting the essentials, while centered front pockets on outerwear make phone access easy.

Bags made from biker jacket elements nod to a reconstructed idea of inner circles, as do details like Balenciaga-branded razor earrings, tilt-heeled Texan boot mules, or a cap and shirt that explicitly spell out Crew. These and other indicators of genre are mixed and matched, sublimated or somehow shifted, together coming up with a contemporary, flexible, everyday wardrobe.