“After two years at Balenciaga, I wanted to take all the codes of the house and filter them so they can be one aesthetic and one ethic,” said Demna Gvasalia. What seemed to be a reflective season for Balenciaga‘s creative director, felt at a first glance like a very, very predictable Gvasalia offering. Coats layered over ten other coats, dad-looks, a play with corporate dressing. In other words – well, we’ve seen enough of that. I thought: is there a place for something new?

But then, you and I had no clue that what seemed to be the most ‘basic’ about this collection appeared to be fashion’s revolution.  Thanks to a high-tech computer-enabled process, the women’s and men’s blazers were… molded. The tailored silhouettes had been 3-D scanned, the fittings were done digitally and then the forms were printed out. Fabrics that are well known across the traditional industry, like tweed or wool, were then bonded to a “lightweight foam”. Shortly speaking – that’s incredible. Today’s fashion needs that kind of progress a lot, to continue being exciting and desired. I really can’t wait to see how the designer develops the idea further across Balenciaga in the next seasons.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.