Balenciaga Drama
Last month, I went on a press trip to visit Balenciaga’s new megastore in Miami’s Paradise Plaza. I ogled their undone architecture and—for the first time ever—tried on some Demna-designed clothes. Glancing at my reflection decked out in pant-a-leggings, an oversized hoodie from the Balenciaga Adidas collab, and a pair of giant sunglasses that hugged the bridge of my nose, I felt like Kourtney Kardashian: rich and famous for no reason at all.
A few weeks prior, I had mentioned to a colleague that I felt like Balenciaga was reaching its peak. Looking back on the plateaus of previous designers, it was fair to assume that Demna—who has been at Balenciaga for over five years, an eternity in the Instagram-era—was losing steam. Not only has he managed to create collections simultaneously groundbreaking and ubiquitous, but he has also united the fashion world’s most powerful brand with America’s most infamous family, a sure-fire way to earn the attention of critics, and burn bright before burning out. Yet if you told me then that an alt-right army would inspire liberal consumers to join a crusade against one of the most impactful living designers, I would have never believed you.
Balenciaga is big business, and in the time of digital consumerism, controversy is the currency that keeps people shopping. Of course, no one knows this better than designers like Demna, who do their best to maintain a delicate balance between brand-building and attention-seeking. That's why we see variations on Balenciaga’s infamous knife boot stomping down climate catastrophe-inspired catwalks in nearly all of their recent runway shows, and why children were cast in a campaign promoting freaky purses and home goods. Put simply, the controversy in question was the result of poor decision making, an example of what happens in a postmodern era when the apex of outrage culture crumbles and the lines between trolling and marketing becomes blurred. Just as sticking a three figure price tag on a pair of crocs can be compelling, so too can cancelling a brand that has for years captured the zeitgeist by selling overpriced sneakers.
It goes without saying that Demna’s downfall is beyond ironic, but even more surprising is the way that the brand handled the accusations against them. By threatening legal action, Balenciaga did what it does best. The brand kept the spotlight on them, elongating a press cycle surrounding what could have been passed off as another coo-coo conspiracy theory. It’s possible this all happened because Demna flew too close to the sun. But it’s also fair to say that he is simply another victim of our click-centric culture. A creative behest to content hungry consumers and corporate behemoths, willing to go the distance to keep his vision intact.