A sort of closing of a circle opened about a decade ago, the one that was staged yesterday at the New York Stock Exchange where Balenciaga staged its fashion show for Spring/Summer 2023.
The spaces of the hub of global capitalism, the trading floor to be precise, served as the backdrop for a show that brought to the runway, not only the collaboration with adidas but also the aesthetics of the BDSM world-with models who walked the runway wearing black latex masks that completely covered their faces. The mask theme has now become central to Demna‘s philosophy. But for 10 years now, Demna, Balenciaga’s artistic director, has been making fun of the contemporary, like a novel and fine jester using fashion as a means of expression, exploring and subverting it again and again.
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The soundtrack that accompanied the presentation was the techno of BFRND transforming “The Big Board” (as the New York Stock Exchange is nicknamed) into Berlin’s Berghain-if we also think of the looks made of leather and latex we are in Berlin in no time).
The monitors in the trading room displayed the logos of Disney, Twitter, VISA but with the images glitching continuously, somewhat as if Demna had hacked the communication system of the New York Stock Exchange.
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The general disquiet and anguish – the result of the combination of all the elements that made up the show – finds its climax in a slow, repetitive version of Frank Sinatra’s “New York New York”, a kind of musical depiction of the contemporary United States, caught between a present fraught with difficulties (the Russian question, an unconvincing Biden, racism and violence) and the shadow of Trump that continues to creep over the country.
Below you can take a look at Balenciaga’s entire Spring/Summer 2023 show.
