Balenciaga transforms Paris into “Capital B” for spring 2024

Here’s a snapshot of Parisian life. Balenciaga unveiled its spring 2024 collection called “Capital B” in a digital fashion show filmed in time-lapse in front of its iconic address at 10, avenue George V in Paris. The electrifying urban show by Georgian designer Demna was broadcast worldwide on its website at 3pm on Tuesday May 30.

Models wearing sunglasses make their way along the pavement, on foot or on a skateboard, some walking dogs, others carrying parcels or shopping baskets, busy passers-by pass each other and then take shelter from the sudden downpour… A scene from everyday life, like a waltz with a thousand beats, to the sound of Édith Piaf’s “Sous le Ciel de Paris”.

In Balenciaga’s 5-minute short film, orchestrated by Spanish artist Mau Morgó, taken in a single continuous shot, its artistic director Demna (stage name of Demna Gvasalia) revealed 44 looks divided into two chapters: the ‘wardrobe’ line made up of timeless essentials and more seasonal ready-to-wear pieces.

For women: a long, refined black velvet dress, a dress embroidered with sequins and silver fringes – resolutely disco – and a crimson red dress with endless pleats made from a technical crepe fabric combining refinement and practicality.

As for the men, they were dressed in a half tartan, half quilted coat in rare wool, a jet-black trench coat and a skirt, called the ‘Towel Skirt’, in beige, indigo blue, charcoal grey and deep black, superimposed over baggy jogging trousers. 

These architecturally-designed outfits were accessorised with the label’s iconic ‘Hourglass’ handbag, fishnet and crystal bags, ‘Romeo’ mules and biker boots that morph into slippers as the wearer sees fit. 

A democratised digital fashion show 

The online fashion show is a gateway to more inclusive fashion. While the Covid-19 pandemic has prompted fashion houses to rethink their online communications strategy, the Balenciaga label is paying tribute to the daily ballet played out in the capital with a digital event accessible to all.

During the show, which was broadcast on the Internet, the models paraded down the street in front of the stone façade and solid wood door of Balenciaga’s couture boutique in the 8th arrondissement of the French capital. A showcase opened last summer in the Golden Triangle, in the exact spot where the label’s founder, Cristobal Balenciaga, opened his first boutique, which he nicknamed ‘Le Dix’, in 1937.

This collection, designed for spring 2024, enthusiastically explores tailoring and the interplay of structure, and echoes Balenciaga’s previous show in March, at the Carousel du Louvre in Paris, which featured designs without logos.

It was a stylistic choice by the fashion house, part of the Kering luxury group headed by François-Henri Pinault, which has adopted a low profile since the controversial advertising scandal last December.