Demna’s final collection for Balenciaga haute couture was a love letter embodied by sculptural silk, a closing chapter written in the house’s language of defiance and elegance through time. We needed this curtain call after a decade of chaos, clarity, irony, and drama. “This collection is the perfect way for me to finish my decade at Balenciaga,” Demna said in a statement. “I have come as close as possible to being satisfied in this endless pursuit of impossible perfection—the defining ethos of Cristóbal Balenciaga.” Cover image: courtesy of Balenciaga
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BALENCIAGA HAUTE COUTURE
Before Demna turned Balenciaga into a target for cultural critique, there was Cristóbal (and a few others, obviously). The Spanish couturier made his name with his unparalleled structured silhouettes. His signatures (cocoon coats, baby doll dresses, the barrel line) hovered around the body, refusing the era’s obsession with the cinched waist. His sack dress has to be one of his most iconic creations. It was a deceptively simple piece that liberated women from constraint and ushered in a new era of ease.
Fast forward to today, and Demna’s final offering felt like a homage and a parting gift. The first look—white, sharp-shouldered, and gloved—was classic as Demna as Balenciaga. The looks that followed were a little bit Dracula. The models moved slowly, and the energy was hushed. Those in the know could hear the names of Demna’s team whispered through the speakers like a prayer. “The starting point for the collection was a study of the dress codes of “La Bourgeoisie.” Severe and monumental tailoring for women with tulip lapels that frame the face, alongside high-collared, constructed Medici and Nosferatu-esque necklines. “Couture renditions of archetypal garments form my ultimate wardrobe—building on what I consider the raison d’être of this métier as something that needs to exist outside the ballroom,” Demna explained.
The entire collection read like a personal archive: sartorial memories linked to couture craftsmanship. A Danielle suit, a nod to a 1967 houndstooth ensemble, appeared tailored yet fluid and more modern than the original piece. A floral sequined skirt suit drew from a 1957 motif. A pink debutante dress in super-light organza. A reengineered car coat so airy it barely touched the skin. And Kim Kardashian, intentionally channeling Elizabeth Taylor, in a feather-embroidered “mink” coat over a sultry slip, topped with Taylor’s original diamond earrings.
DEMNA’S ARCHETYPES
And what would Demna be without a wink to archetypes? The puffer jacket with no seams. The trompe-l’œil corduroy was made from 300 km of tufted embroidery; “The first ‘corduroy’ pants I want to wear,” Demna explained. Tailoring was developed with Neapolitan ateliers and presented in “one-size-fits-all” on wildly different bodies. As Demna put it: “It is not the garment that defines the body, but the body that defines the garment,” in line with Daniel Roseberry’s starting point for his latest Schiaparelli collection, which he showed on Monday.
The accessories spoke volumes: the first-ever Balenciaga couture sneakers, made with traditional shoemaking techniques; refined handbags worn as laptop briefcases while looking like jewelry boxes; fans recreated from the archives of Duvelleroy. You could say the most eccentric couture flourish: over 1,000 carats of custom diamonds and emeralds, dripping with Elizabeth Taylor’s unapologetic opulence. But the real showstopper? Eliza’s seamless Guipure lace gown, shaped using millinery techniques, worn bare-faced.
The message became crystal clear as Sade’s “No Ordinary Love” swelled. “I gave you all I have inside, and you took my love.” The heartbreak was intentional.
Demna’s Balenciaga has always been a cultural commentary, a provocation, a mirror held up to the industry and the world. But this final act was about devotion to Cristóbal, craftsmanship, the team, fashion in general, and its potential to move people. Indeed – this wasn’t ordinary love, and Demna always knew it.
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