When you pursue perfection so much that you are almost paranoid, sometimes you can't tell whether it is a good or a bad thing.
does this as the only way to achieve success in your own field, but when the external situation changes and this change cannot be changed by a person, self-doubt will arise. This is why Mr. Cristóbal Balenciaga decided to close his haute couture house in 1968.
971, the third year after the closure of the Balenciaga high-end fashion house, Cristóbal Balenciaga himself spoke to Prudence Glynn, a reporter of the " Times ", and expressed his views on the current fashion industry and the reasons for closing the fashion house. In the original text, it was: "When I was young, someone said to me, 'You can't be the women's clothing designer you want to be,' because I can't tolerate flaws. No one knows how hard it is. Under luxury and charm, it's a dog-like life."Ready-to-wear was emerging in that era, Balenciaga I have raised questions about the existence of the concept of high-end customization, and he has somehow not understood the "current" world. In May 1968, Balenciaga Haute Couture closed.
Cristóbal Balenciaga
For this, Mona Von Bismarck, a fashion icon named the world's best dressed woman in 1933, locked herself in a villa on Capri for three days, and it was utterly unimaginable to live without Balenciaga clothes. In a certain mood, Balenciaga resolutely closed the high-end custom fashion house. That was the choice of rather than tile .
But now, high-end customization is back, and the salon form that represents the rise of fashion is back. In Shanghai, something meaningful is happening.
-01-
Impression
When we first meet new things, the primary impression is often not in the things themselves. It’s like before listening to a song, you’ll see the title and album cover first; before a big meal, you’ll smell the fragrance first, and this rule is almost always applicable in interesting activities - they won’t let you see the end of at a glance .
curve
Balenciaga held a haute couture salon for its season 50 in Shanghai, but the first impression it gave is not the clothing, but the building consisting of basic geometric squares and circles and the milky white curtains covering the windows of the building. When you walk into the clothing display space, you will see a circular skyline surrounded by fabrics of the same color.
Balenciaga Shanghai Salon Scene
In fact, the circle, or the curve surrounded by , is a very important layout element of the Balenciaga show, which was also reflected in the previous show.
Regarding curves, architect Antonio Gaudi (Antonio Gaudi ) once said: " straight lines belong to humans, while curves belong to God. " Gaudi 's statement comes from observation - there are almost no pure straight lines in nature, and most of his architectural appearance comes from imitation of nature. For this salon, placing the surrounding curve indoors can greatly enhance the sense of participation of people in the space in the main thing . The curve of
is Balenciaga's first "invitation letter" inviting audiences to join in the interaction with clothing.
taste
second impression is also not clothing, but taste, about the passing of time. The use of the site is the same as the ones sprayed at the 50th Haute Couture Conference in Paris, and it is not appropriate to describe it as perfume.
that really just a taste.
is created by Sissel Tolaas, a “olfactory artist”, extracting molecules from the collection of leather, old textiles and perfumes used by clients who were last part of those fashion shows in the archives. She wanted to capture the landscape of that existed in the world at some time, rather than creating a scent that smells comfortable.
So when Sissel finally came out the finished product, "they really smelled like they were back in time," Demna said.
display
third impression is about the display method. In the show in Paris in July, they chose to set off the outfit with silence—you can hear the sound of the models walking around and the friction of clothes, and the applause that sounded after the show was all completed.
That was a tribute to Mr. Balenciaga himself back then. He would not play music at the fashion show, nor would he appear and end the curtain call at the end. He believes that costumes are the protagonists, not himself.
In fact, the ultimate goal of this approach is to make people focus on clothing. Shanghai exhibition adopts different methods. The key is that uses light and display methods .
dummy models and custom clothing displayed around the circumference, warm backlit ceilings, infinite reflection visual space, and furniture replicated from Balenciaga's first haute couture fashion show in the 1930s. All of this constitutes a territory that definitely belongs to the work .
Through these details, Balenciaga's respect for Chinese consumers can also be seen.
In fact, the release of this haute couture should have officially arrived in July 2020, but due to the epidemic, even World War II and the Nazis did not stop the Paris fashion show, which stopped in 2020.
This year, after the epidemic improved, Balenciaga's high-end customization returned as scheduled, and after balancing the exhibition results and various reasons, it moved the exhibition to China.
Balenciaga China Special
Apart from this, as mentioned above, the same flavor as the Paris show, the classic circular exhibition space... In addition, Demna has also created a silk jacket with imitation leather fur embroidered Organya as China Special. They are working hard to do everything they can, sharing Balenciaga's culture and history with Chinese consumers.
-02-
Respect
Balenciaga I am measuring
In fact, this respect for consumers has been part of its brand culture since the founder Cristóbal Balenciaga founded the brand. He refused to join the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture back then because he was dissatisfied with their rules: two series were produced each year, each with 75 pieces of clothing and at least 20 employees. At that time, he did not like these strict guidelines , nor did he want to serve the public, nor did he want to reduce the experience of those exclusive private customers because of these things.
In fact, even if the number of private customers is the number of private customers, Balenciaga will strictly control to a certain range . Staff in black suits will refuse many customers who hold money and hope to buy.
Of course, respect cannot be reflected only in the word "you" mentioned in the previous name. You have to do something, right? There is a joke that there are three elements for how to shoot good-looking portraits: "Good models, good-looking models and good-looking models." Balenciaga himself doesn't think so.
He will not think that wearing my clothes is not good-looking, it is the wearer's own problem, he hopes that even if you are not perfect, you will become perfect after wearing my clothes. “A woman has no need to be perfect or even beautiful to wear my dresses. The dress will do all that for her. (A woman wearing my skirt doesn’t need perfection or even beauty. The dress will do all that for her. ” Cristóbal Balenciaga once said this.
Sack Dress
So when the designers at the same time emphasized the curve of women’s body, he made a Sack Dress that tightened up and down and loose in the middle like a “sack”. It was an era of booming fashion development, countless masters emerged, and there were many frictions between them, but the “picky” designers did not hesitate to do it for Balenciaga I send you praises.
Coco Chanel calls him "The only couturier in the true sense of the word", and Christian Dior also calls him "The master of us all"."
When time came to the 1950s, Balenciaga officially ushered in the pinnacle of her personal career - the cross-age "The Semi-Fitted Look". The front and back of the
seem to have a completely different look, achieving a perfect balance between aesthetics and inclusion. His design has also become an endless source of inspiration for later designers, affecting the names that later include futuristic designer André Courrèges, Balenciaga's main assistant friend Hubert de Givenchy and other digital names that were later well-known in the fashion world.
And those magical designs he made by himself, and to this day, modern people have used X Only by light technology can we give a perfect and clear explanation without destroying clothes.
-03-
behind
Most of the time, when we discuss whether the design is excellent enough, the key is whether expresses , and whether it is a simple technique display or a deeper meaning of .
is like printing feminist slogans on the chest, which cannot bring real changes to women's lives, and attracting eyeballs account for a greater proportion. When Coco Chanel cancels the waist to create a female professional outfit, Yves Saint Laurent creates smoking and hunting outfits, and Cristóbal Balenciaga creates Sack Dress At that time, they made their own expressions through clothes, and the lives of women wearing them have actually changed, which is more meaningful.
, and the current Balenciaga designer Demna, who was a refugee child, fled to Germany from war-torn Georgia in 1993. He said he had to try to discover beauty from every corner of his life. In fact, he was also trying to make meaningful expressions.
conflict
's most obvious expression is conflict.
creates "beautiful conflict" , which is Demna With a good show, he would try to put things that shouldn't have been here, but it makes you feel that the sense of separation from reality is fresh and interesting. Just like the velvet-out-of-cut leather bathrobe and shawl, a bathrobe appeared on the haute couture show? It's hard to imagine that he incorporates a more everyday concept into haute couture, you can wear it on the street or go to a dinner.
Just right conflict is the basis of romance , which is also something the younger generation wants, something that makes the wearer different.
Similar to this, there are sets made of tannin fabrics. In fact, these are all manifestations of Demna's personal feelings. The clothes he made before came to Balenciaga have a strong subcultural atmosphere. After he stepped onto a larger stage, he still wanted to make some "jokes" that everyone recognized. Just like when Duchamp signed the ceramic pot, named it Fountain and placed it in the art gallery with a grand sacred look.
sounds like a bit of personal heroism, but there is also a grasp of the degree. The designer who spent millions of others to build a red brick house and used other people's money to realize his dream. This "joke" seems a bit too much.
Demna did not forget this is Balenciaga Couture - the bathrobe creates an unusual sense of space through pioneering tailoring, and the material is also made of leather and silk cashmere inner, while the tannin set uses an old American weaving machine existing in Japan to make fabrics, and is dyed in indigo.
He wants to use his own way to make elites develop desire for some elements from the street.
Privacy
There is another very eye-catching thing, which is the "Lanshade hat" with a very high probability of appearance. It is a work created in collaboration with the milliner's hat manufacturer Philip Treacy. It is decorated with mirror, oval and full of futurism.
Due to the venue and other reasons, the Shanghai show did not choose a live model to show. The sensory improvement brought by the hat seems not so obvious, but it can also be seen that this hat can easily cover half of the face, including the eyes - when the eyes are hidden in the brim, a sense of mystery arises naturally.At the same time, it seems to be discussing the topic of privacy and proper social distancing, rather than just playing with structure, fabric and size.
This hat also creates enough Drama vision for high-end customization. When reading fashion magazines, you will feel that some photos are taken too "standard". In fact, it is just that you feel that they are too ordinary. It is not bad if they appear on personal social media, but it is not suitable for them to appear on fashion magazines.
"Lancock Cap" is here, and when it exists as the finishing touch in a set of styling, you will find the reason why it is placed in a high-end custom show.
Environmental
Sustainability is the eternal theme.
Whether it is the abnormal weather that everyone can feel recently or the COVID-19 pandemic, it may eventually return to the word "environmental protection". This is the unavoidable responsibility of everyone or institution. After all, we all live on this blue planet.
also has a large number of artificial furs and technological fabrics used in this high-end customization. Some people always think that leather patterns do not have the texture of genuine leather. Well... Balenciaga Couture The crocodile leather pattern skirt this time is arranged through computer programs, and then the crocodile leather texture effect is simulated by hand splicing. It is like hand-woven a piece of leather "ceramic tiles". The whole process takes thousands of hours to .
doesn't look like "cut corners" with environmental protection as a gimmick.
According to McKinsey's 2020 report, the fashion industry's greenhouse gas emissions account for 3% to 10% of the global total, and the official website of Balenciaga has the column SUSTAINABILITY AT BALENCIAGA (Balenciaga's Sustainability Development).
They had known for a long time that they had to do something.
-04-
"Napoleon"
-"The monster from Corsica landed in Ru'an Port."
-"The man-cannibal devil approached Gres."
-"The despicable and shameless thief of the country entered Gerrenoble."
-" Napoleon Bonaparte occupied Lyon . "
—"General Napoleon approached Fontainebleau. "
—"The supreme emperor arrived at his faithful Paris today."
This is the newspaper news during Napoleon's restoration and leaving Corsica approaching Paris. There is no need to consider its authenticity for the time being. Its essence is to describe a certain "dark" psychology.
When Demna first came to Balenciaga, some media posted a message saying how ugly the clothes he made were. Coincidentally, Cristóbal Balenciaga was also ridiculed when she made Sack Dress known as "Potato Bags", but everyone knew the final result.
Demna
Balenciaga and Demna are certainly not the "Emperor" of Paris, but whether they can subvert something like "Napoleon" who arrived in Paris from Corsica? Although the signs have gradually emerged, the result is still unknown. Obviously, he understands one truth: if you want to get the recognition of a certain group of people, you need to stand where they are.
Balenciaga is more popular among the new generation of young people because Demna knows that this generation does not want to be the same as the previous generation. They need new things and new ideas at the same time. The pile of so-called fashion elements cannot be recognized, and colorful lights are not the secret to winning, Demna has long been well aware of this.
Looking at the entire exhibition, although it was the first return of Balenciaga Couture after 53 years, it was of course the first time that it came to China. Before it actually arrived, everyone thought Demna wanted you to go back in time, thinking that he would open you a time tunnel to 1967.
When these works are presented before you will feel--no, maybe Demna worships the scepter belonging to Cristóbal Balenciaga in the museum, but in fact, His eyes always look to the future.
Text execution: y
Layout: Andy
Producer: Wuyun
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