Balenciaga, autumn-winter 2023 collection

The Balenciaga show was the brand’s first event since the scandal surrounding an advertising campaign featuring children. In the show notes, Demna recalls his first tailored pair of pants when he was six years old and says that fashion has stopped being a hobby for him, “it’s more the art of making clothes.” His reboot collection evolved chapter by chapter: deconstructed pants, biker gear, signature floral-print dresses and red-carpet looks. The pants are deconstructed, some options come with extra legs that flutter like a train. Even in the dressing room there were skirts that looked like pants turned inside out. Biker jackets and tracksuits have inflated “airbags” sewn into them, which change the silhouette: the models in them seem to be hunched over. The dresses have recognizable raised shoulders and pleats. In the evening wear section there are deaf dresses closed entirely in crystals or feathers.