Gaze In Horror At Balenciaga’s Mud-Soaked Paris Fashion Show
They pulled off a mud runway better than influencers at Splendour.
Balenciaga took a leaf out of the Splendour in Grass book with a muddy runway at Paris Fashion Week.
The luxury fashion house debuted its SS23 looks on Sunday, getting their models to flounce through a slop of brown slush in the name of beauty, style, and grace.
Balenciaga is a social experiment that has gone for way too long pic.twitter.com/bNkVIVQT3G
— kira 👾 (@kirawontmiss) October 2, 2022
The international fanfare took Australians back to the calamitous Splendour in the Grass festival in July, which was furthermore known as ‘Splendour in the Mud‘ after torrential rain and ongoing floods in NSW affected operations and caused lengthy delays.
But don’t get it twisted, the Balenciaga Summer show was full haute couture unlike its Aussie counterpart — Creative Director Demna Gvasalia had brought in 275,000 litres of black mud from a French peat bog to ensure the event was still à la mode despite the noticeable absence of gumboots.
“I’ve decided to no longer explain my collections and verbalise my designs, but to express my mind,” said Gvasalia in a statement. “Fashion is a visual art, and we need is for it to be seen through someone’s eyes.”
me at the balenciaga mud pit pic.twitter.com/MNvHQ4E3q9
— Whiskey ♡ (@whiskeyperson) October 2, 2022
“The set of this show is a metaphor for digging for truth and being down to earth. Let us let everyone be anyone and make love not war.”
Balenciaga’s runway was opened by Kanye ‘Ye’ West, who made headlines on Tuesday for his ‘White Lives Matter’ t-shirt worn by the rapper and controversial conservative Candace Owens during the Yeezy Season 9 show.
Also in attendance on Sunday was model Bella Hadid, Kylie Jenner, Daniel Kaluuya, Alexa Demie, Emily Ratajkowski, Offset, Doja Cat, Charli XCX, Salma Hayek, Naomi Campbell, and more amid its star-studded audience.
Catch the full runway below.