The New York Stock Exchange is no stranger to expensive tailoring, but the suits that hit its trading floor on Sunday night were of an altogether less corporate variety – and, unusually (I think) for Wall Street, they came accessorised with gimp suits.
For his first ever show stateside, Demna Gvasalia chose the home of capitalism to unveil his spring ’23 vision for Balenciaga.
The combined men’s and women’s collection centred on a smattering of eveningwear – silk pussybow blouses, floor length silk trench coats and a billowing white polka dot pleated dress –alongside Gvasalia’s new ‘Garde Robe’ line; a capsule of wardrobe staples in expensive cuts - think mostly black suiting, separates and outerwear in silk, gabardine and denim. With strong shoulders, cinched waists, giant clown-like stompy boots and floor-skimming outerwear, this was officewear with a pre-2008 swagger.
The other 50 per cent of the show was dedicated to a new collaboration with Adidas, hot on the heels of the sports giant’s AW22 outing with Gucci. Unlike the latter, which felt playful for the way it applied the Adidas stripe and logo to non-sporty items like berets and lace dresses, Balenciaga’s new hook up was more predictable. Red tracksuits, oversized t-shirts, basketball shorts and puffer coats all came marked with the sports brand’s trefoil logo pasted over the name Balenciaga written in the adidas lowercase typeface.
The Adidas x Balenciaga pieces are available to pre-order for a week on Balenciaga.com. And if that’s not for you, Gvasalia’s also flogging tees with the official NYSE logo for £595, should wearing eye-wateringly expensive ironic banker merch as the world faces financial crisis be your bag.
