Demna Gvasalia’s designs merged elements of past men’s and women’s shows. Photography by Johnny Dufort, styling by Lotta Volkova.
Having decided to go coed starting in March, Balenciaga was one of the notable absentees on this week’s Paris men’s wear runways.
The label made up for it with the presentation of its first pre-collection for men at its showroom, where a row of giant screens showed models walking in variations of the oversize man-on-the-street clothes that creative director Demna Gvasalia showed for spring, merged with the hybrid garments he designed for women.
“The two-way conversation between the ordinary and the extraordinary, between fashion and utility, emphasizes the Balenciaga priority of putting choice in the hands of the personality of the wearer,” the house said in a statement.
Shirts and T-shirts were fused together to be worn two ways, as in a fluorescent green T-shirt twinned with a brown-and-blue checked shirt. (And let’s face it, who doesn’t like two for the price of one?)
Patchwork was another central theme of the collection, from the tone-on-tone burgundy leather pants to a zipped top in bands of contrasting fleece and jersey fabrics.
Gvasalia updated his trademark down jacket with bold rugby stripes, cinching the bulky outerwear with nylon fanny packs that promise to become as coveted as the brand’s Triple S sneaker.
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