After a brief hiatus, the French luxury design house is back. Balenciaga re-entered the fashion world during Paris Fashion Week to present their Fall/Winter 2023 collection, and they came at it with a whole new angle we've never seen from them before. Let's take a closer look.
For those needing a quick reminder, Balenciaga went MIA after releasing a controversial ad campaign that caused the brand to get a whole lot of hate. People quickly fell off the Balenciaga bandwagon after the campaign was released, including business mogul and brand ambassador Kim Kardashian, who announced she would have to "re-evaluate" her relationship with the brand.
Despite keeping a low profile these past few months, the luxury brand is back, and this time with something completely different: skatewear. The brand quietly introduced its graffiti-covered skate-inspired collection this week. The capsule includes oversized and boxy t-shirts, long-sleeves, hoodies, and sweatpants, with a lot of spray paint-like graphics all over the clothing. We see the "BB" logo and other Balenciaga stamped patterns on the pieces, including the traditional "Balenciaga" logo front and center. The items are a cross between a distressed and baggy look but have a Balenciaga price tag! The skatewear capsule includes a $1,350 oversized skater t-shirt, $1,850 skater baggy sweatpants, a skater tuxedo jacket for $4,400, and much more. We're not so sure if anyone should be riding around on a skateboard with a $4,000 jacket.
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Due to the recent controversy, Balenciaga saw a dramatic drop in its Q1 ratings compared to other fashion brands. According to the Lyst Index Q1 2023 reports, the French fashion house dropped seven spots to number 18 on the list. Ouch. However, Prada rang in at number one for the second consecutive season, with Miu Miu getting second place and Moncler securing number three. Valentino moved up one spot to fourth place, while LOEWE took home lucky number five. With Balenciaga's numbers dramatically dropping, we wonder what's next for the luxury label. So, stay tuned to find out.
