Ahead of Paris Fashion Week, Balenciaga Creative Director Demna revealed that the fashion house’s upcoming show doesn’t aim to generate controversy, but instead focuses on product, heritage and craftsmanship.
After a series of high-profile missteps — from a campaign photographing children wearing BDSM teddies, to a court ruling using child pornography as a prop, to Demna’s friendship and troubled Kanye “Ye” West — Balenciaga became, albeit not exactly rejected, but ostracized as an outsider. The company held back from apologizing before issuing a proper mea culpa.
But as is often the case in the fashion world, it took a season to reflect, take stock and develop a new strategy, with both creative director Demna and CEO Cédric Charbit publicly taking responsibility for the brand’s missteps.
The financial report of Balenciaga parent company Kering for the fourth quarter – the climax of the Balenciaga scandal – is still pending. The results may reveal some setback to the brand’s rapid growth trajectory.
How does the Balenciaga scandal affect Kering?
A study by HSBC bank published in January suggests that the worst may be over for Balenciaga. The report spoke of “delays in tourism-related spending” and “longer-term strains from recent PR problems.”
“I’ve decided to go back to my roots in fashion and to the roots of Balenciaga, which is making quality clothes – not headlines,” Demna said in his recent interview with Vogue.
“From this situation I learned that designing clothes makes me the happiest. Last year I spent most of December cutting and sewing clothes with my team. I reflected on my beginnings and realized how important it is for me. It is serious work to make clothes. It’s not about creating an image or creating hype or things like that. I got back to designing jackets. That’s how this brand started, and that’s how I started as a designer.”
Next Wednesday, Kering will publish its sales for the fourth quarter, followed by Balenciaga’s presentation of the women’s Fall 2023 collection on March 5 in Paris.
This translated post previously appeared on FashionUnited.com.