Paris Fashion Week: Balenciaga offers styles made from repurposed clothes

Balenciaga designer Demna showed a lineup of new styles constructed from repurposed garments for his winter show in Paris, which he sent down a screen-lined runway on Sunday to an audience that included Kim Kardashian and Serena Williams.

Models paraded clothing that was pressed together into new shapes, including tops made from jeans, the legs wrapped around the neck, gowns pieced together from an assortment of lingerie and t-shirts layered with tank tops.

The front panel of a dress was a flattened backpack, while a pair of button-up shirts were affixed together with clear tape—one on the front, the other on the back.

“I wanted this show to represent a link between the past and the future of Balenciaga as a house based on creative value,” said Demna in a voice message, delivered to guests via a QR code.

Kim Kardashian during the Balenciaga show on 3 March
(AFP)

The designer said it reflected an aesthetic he has been developing over the past decade, and that silhouettes were directly inspired by the fashion house’s founder Cristobal Balenciaga.

The Kering-owned label, which sells a large version of its Rodeo handbag for 4,200 euros and visor-like “24/7 Mask” sunglasses for 2,500 euros, is ramping up advertising investments this year after pulling back following a controversy linked to an ad campaign over a year ago that affected sales in the United States, Europe and the Middle East.

Rising living costs have also prompted a pull-back in spending from fashion shoppers, particularly younger generations.

Balenciaga has continued to grow sales in Asia, however, outperforming rivals in China, and plans to hold a runway show in Shanghai in May.