This past Sunday, the fashion set ascended on Wall Street for the highly anticipated Balenciaga destination show in New York. Megan Thee Stallion made an appearance in a sheer top paired with leggings and Balenciaga shades. Netflix stars Christine Quinn from “Selling Sunset” and Christine Chiu and Jaime Xie from “Bling Empire” posed on the cobblestone streets wearing full Balenciaga looks.
For its resort 2023 collection, the French house brought its signature oversize tailoring, elevated take on athleisure, and odes to queer aesthetics to the New York Stock Exchange trading floor. Editors, celebs, and fellow fashion designers (like Vera Wang and Marc Jacobs) watched the spring 2023 collection with its mix of ready to wear (dubbed the Garde-Robe line), evening wear, and a new see-now-buy-now capsule of Balenciaga’s Adidas collab. An exclusive release of selected Balenciaga x Adidas pieces were available to purchase via balenciaga.com and at the Madison Avenue Balenciaga store immediately following the show.
Image Source: Courtesy of Balenciaga
Stars like Kanye West, Balenciaga ambassador Alexa Demie, and recent newlywed Chloë Sevigny sat front row as models turned the NASDAQ into a runway, strutting the black-carpeted trading floor to the tune of EDM house tracks.
The collection focuses on exploring the world of evening wear through a refined sporty lens, a unique juxtaposition Balenciaga’s creative director, Demna Gvasalia, is known for. He also interjected nods to BDSM and club-kid culture. With a through line of fetish latex bodysuits, the collection takes inspiration from performance artist and club-kid pioneer Leigh Bowery, with each model wearing one underneath their look.
Take look three, for example: a long-sleeved, floor-length, black crushed-velvet evening dress with a built-in chain necklace, elegant in design, paired with a black latex mask. This jarring juxtaposition carries out throughout the entire collection: tailored suits, satin pussy-bow blouses, pleated polka-dot dresses, denim, and Adidas tracksuits, all shown with black latex masks.
Gvasalia (who was just named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People) has long been the industry’s enfant terrible, staying in tune with the zeitgeist. From a collection presented via a special “Simpsons” episode and the brand’s $1,800 fully destroyed sneaker to dressing Kim Kardashian for her “divorce tour,” he is known for offering up pop culture moments.
Ahead, see several designs and the best celebrity fashion looks from the fetish-inspired Balenciaga show.
