Balenciaga

1917

CRISTÓBAL BALENCIAGA OPENS AN HAUTE COUTURE HOUSE IN SAN SEBASTIAN, SPAIN

1937

BALENCIAGA OPENS HIS HAUTE COUTURE HOUSE AT 10 GEORGE V IN PARIS, FRANCE

2015

ON OCTOBER 7, 2015, DEMNA WAS APPOINTED ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF BALENCIAGA.

His debut for the House, presented in March 2016, introduced a bold new direction centered on realism, transforming utilitarian garments into a modern wardrobe imbued with the attitudes of M. Balenciaga’s couture. His vision for the House extended to menswear with Balenciaga’s first menswear show in June 2016, followed by his unification of the menswear and womenswear presentations in 2018.

Key conceptual and thematic signatures from Demna’s tenure at the House include his reinterpretations of Cristóbal Balenciaga’s codes, exercises in proportion, studies of the “readymade,” trompe-l’oeils, upcycling, a rethinking of fashion’s pre-established rules, and his ongoing examination of the contemporary wardrobe: what people wear, how they wear it, and where the fine line lies between fashion and luxury.