Balenciaga by Demna exhibition
We enter a church. The sacral merges with the secular. Fashion absorbs religion, and clothing becomes artifact. Balenciaga by Demna, presented inside Laennec in Paris, was built in one month and felt like a turning point. A selection of one hundred and one pieces captured a decade of transformation. What once stirred debate now appears as a body of work with permanence. Provocation, once immediate and viral, now rests with clarity.
The exhibition begins with a display of invitations. Ten years of quiet tension printed on paper. Then, piece by piece, the space reveals a series of deliberate placements. Mannequins, sculptures, and mirrored supports host garments and objects from thirty different collections. Nothing feels accidental. Everything has weight.
Demna’s interpretation of Cristóbal Balenciaga’s legacy avoids sentimentality. It treats the archive as raw material. Volume is pushed to extremity. The readymade appears as a tactic. Tailoring is warped, not as a gimmick, but as a structural decision. Upcycling and illusion are present without apology or decoration.
Two pieces arrive from Palais Galliera, the fashion museum of Paris. They do not serve as homage. Instead, they underline contrast. What Demna did at Balenciaga created a separate language. Fifty of the garments are accompanied by audio commentary. His voice speaks with distance. He offers context, references, intentions. There is no mythology. Just process, tone, and clarity.
This was done in a month. The time frame adds pressure to the project, but the result feels precise. Nothing in the exhibition suggests improvisation. The setting, once a site for worship, now contains objects that command a different kind of attention. They are not shown for nostalgia. They do not ask to be worn. They mark a decade that changed what fashion can demand from the viewer. Here, in this space, they are not part of a timeline. They are statements.
Words by DONALD GJOKA
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