Yahoo Lifestyle Demna Hangs Loose for Balenciaga Pre-Fall 2025
After supersizing sneakers to nearly ludicrous proportions at Balenciaga, Demna pivoted for pre-fall, reducing shoes to mere molded soles that slide onto the big toe and cup the heel.
Alongside padded slippers and five-toe anatomic runners, he also unveiled a wide-ranging collaboration with orthopedic shoe specialist Scholl, employing its beechwood soles and concealed cork footbeds to create heeled mules, sandals and booties that are kind to the feet.
More from WWD
'With Love Tiffany Holiday 2024,' a Playlist by Gen Hoshino, Debuts on WWDJapan's Spotify
AI Hits Its Holiday Learning Curve as Retailers Put the Tech to Work
EXCLUSIVE: Sustainable Brand Another Tomorrow Opens First Flagship in SoHo
The Georgian designer’s whole effort for the season felt like an about-face from his usual bombast, from the lo-fi “internal use” images that comprise the look book — an errant finger encroaching on the border of some of the photos, purposely “leaked” on Demna’s Instagram account on Monday — to the loose, casual feel of the collection.
Underscoring the comfort factor, biker leathers came mounted on sweatsuit material and tracksuit jackets with ruched sleeves and cutout backs doubled as party dresses, accessorized with leather-covered foam neck pillows. T-shirt shapes abound, some fronted with the faces of brand ambassadors Isabelle Huppert, Michelle Yeoh and Nicole Kidman.
The eveningwear was couch-potato easy: capacious caftans and loose, pajama-like suiting.
The brand held a low-key presentation at its Paris showroom on Tuesday, the same barebones venue where the makeup-less models were captured in mock fitting snapshots.
The underground, alternative vibe was still present in his cast’s borderline furious or hangdog expressions, imperfect posture and unabashedly fierce accessories, which include mirrored ski masks worn as sunglasses, gigantic scarves that swallow up the head and shoulders, and calfskin bags sagging with the weight of their license-plate sized metal logo plaques.
In the vast, cross-shaped showroom, editors jockeyed with commercial buyers to flick through the racks and snap photos of the accessories lined up on shiny white tables.
You have to admire Demna’s ability to transmit wry humor and irony through his fashions, whether it’s a pair of cargo pants shredded nearly to oblivion or a pair of jeans with the size strip sticker printed on permanently.
A fan of automobile esthetics — who can forget his disquieting, RoboCop-esque face shields realized by Mercedes-Benz Formula 1 racing engineers? — the designer has now forged a wide-ranging partnership with Automobili Lamborghini.
On Tuesday, the brand dropped a limited-edition T-shirt bearing a photo of the 2025 Lamborghini Temerario, a hybrid super car. A complete collection — spanning apparel, jewelry, handbags and travel mugs — will be roaring into stores next spring.
Launch Gallery: Balenciaga Pre-Fall 2025
Best of WWD
Sign up for WWD's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
