Balenciaga’s Winter 2024 show is staged in a digital tunnel made out of hundreds of screens pieced together. This isn't the first instance that the brand has set up a multimedia experience to display its collections. This time, however, Balenciaga isn’t creating an immersive futuristic environment. Instead, they displayed an array of highly realistic A.I.-generated landscapes. Throughout the show, the models are seen angrily walking through a snowy mountainous land or a desertic canyon before reaching the streets of Paris – where the event is actually taking place. The use of A.I. in fashion is a very current topic as many wonder how new technologies will impact their jobs. Demna Gvasalia is once again at the forefront of progress. Here, A.I. is used to paint images of lands filled with sun and fireworks. The scene is dystopian but surprisingly optimistic.
The collection references technology through its offering of accessories featuring futuristic shield sunglasses and bracelets made to carry an iPhone. The tone is set. The looks from Winter 2024 act as a condensed summary of Demna’s work for the brand. From the extra-oversized pieces to the garments whose purpose has been shifted, such as the denim trousers used as tops, the codes of Gvasalia’s Balenciaga are dissected and celebrated. Demna himself expressed in the runway notes that the collection is a study of the aesthetic that he has now curated for over a decade. Throughout the years, Balenciaga has successfully proven that different forms of luxury can coexist and shape the way fashion is seen and consumed. With this latest offering, Gvasalia has shown that he’s never out of clever ideas when it comes to further examining this dynamic.
Words by Marien Brandon
