Balenciaga Questions XVII

1. Balenciaga Fall/Winter 2008
2. Proenza Schouler Fall/Winter 2012

And finally, Proenza Schouler. They may have presented their best collection to date but its appeal and success is predicated on the prophecies of Cristóbal Balenciaga and Nicolas Ghesquière. The final question is: Are we witnessing a conscious Balenciaga recycling, or are the Fall/Winter 2012 collections quite simply proof for a triumphant change in womenswear?
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Balenciaga Questions XVI

1. Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2012
2. J.W. Anderson Fall/Winter 2012

Back to London. J.W. Anderson chose s silhouette reminescent of an almost religious Balenciaga woman, altering between witch, high priestess and apocalyptic nun. Her eyes hidden, her robe created of hyper technologic fabrics.
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Balenciaga Questions XV

1. Balenciaga Fall/Winter 2011
2. Alexander Wang Fall/Winter 2012

The Balenciaga phenomenon has also reached and affected New York Fashion Week. Alexander Wang showed a collecton that didn't work with mirrored Balenciaga twin looks but an overall mood that felt very Ghesquière-esque. Brutalist shapes, stiff structures and complex panelling.
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Balenciaga Questions XIV

1. Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2012
2. Topshop Unique Fall/Winter 2012

The hotpant and the boxy jacket. Forming the image of high performance courier girls. Always on the run, always striving for being first. Yet, everything has been done before, has been attempted already.
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Balenciaga Questions XIII

1. Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2011
2. Diesel Black Gold Fall/Winter 2012

A skirt is cut in stiff, overlapping leather panels. A classic shirt is added, fixated with a belt that optically pierces the front. Just an observation. One can either love it or leave it.
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Balenciaga Questions XII

1. Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2009
2. Ports 1961 Fall/Winter 2012

Some collections appear as a congregation of Balenciaga stencils. Traced and re-assembled throughout various looks, the result is avoiding evident relation to its original source. The re-contextualization of Nicolas Ghesquière.
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Balenciaga Questions XI

1. Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2008
2. Mary Katrantzou Fall/Winter 2012

And yes, also the visually opulent, the post-Baroque hourglass puppet dress has existed before. Dipped in metallic pastels and endowed with filigree, romantic details, the versions of Mary and Nicolas don't differ much.
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Balenciaga Questions X

1. Balenciaga Fall/Winter 2008
2. Pringle of Scotland Fall/Winter 2012

It's a study in proportion and codes of gender. Introducing the concept of the boyfriend's blazer, Ghesquière uses dropped shoulders and boxy cuts to shape a square upper body, and to develop the legacy of 80s power dressing further.
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Balenciaga Questions IX

1. Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2003
2. Peter Pilotto Fall/Winter 2012

It may not always be about the identical, but an inherent notion of similarity. Nicolas Ghesquière is a mathematician, logically constructing garments by placing different textiles and alternating prints. Peter Pilotto does agree.
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Balenciaga Questions VIII

1. Balenciaga Fall/Winter 2008
2. Acne Fall/Winter 2012

The Balenciaga look constitutes itself of shape, proportion and material. Ghesquière's combination results in an almost aggressive approach towards the hard, stiff and anti-feminine. His idea seems to have arrived.
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Balenciaga Questions VII

1. Balenciaga Fall/Winter 2011
2. Christopher Kane Fall/Winter 2012

Once again, the presentations of London Fashion Week have attracted attention for their close reference to Nicolas Ghesquière. Possibly unwanted yet comprehensively, strong names of their own right dare to recreate the Balenciaga look. Blatant copy or identity crisis? A (subjective) examination of facts and evidence.
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Balenciaga Questions VI

1. Balenciaga Fall/Winter 2004
2. Raf Simons Fall/Winter 2009

And what happens when the DNA of Balenciaga is injected into menswear? The suit eventually becomes something else. Brutal shoulder proportions and feminine hourglass waists.
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Balenciaga Questions V

1. Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2004
2. Jil Sander Fall/Winter 2009

One more time. Another fictitious example of Simons x Ghesquière. The latter took over the house of Balenciaga at the age of 25 in 1997. He is history. And he is cute. Maybe Nicolas is the best of them all?
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Balenciaga Questions IV

1. Balenciaga Fall/Winter 2004
2. Jil Sander Fall/Winter 2008

Raf Simons undoubtedly shows apprecciation for Nicolas Ghesquière. Wouldn't these two make a beautiful couple, respectively team? Simons x Ghesquière. Wouldn't it be nice?
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Balenciaga Questions III

1. Balenciaga Fall/Winter 2003
2. Louise Goldin Fall/Winter 2010

Maybe unofficially, Fall/Winter 2010 has been declared a post-Balenciaga season? A London tribute to the Parisian house? The subliminal Transformers quote becomes literal meaning itself.
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Balenciaga Questions II

1. Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2006
2. Christopher Kane Fall/Winter 2010

Strictly speaking, we do not see a mere copy here. Instead, ornamental flower arrangements in white, blue and yellow are substitues for graphic compositions in white, blue and yellow.
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Balenciaga Questions

1. Balenciaga Fall/Winter 2003
2. Burberry Fall/Winter 2010

The master and the slave. Where is the fine line between inspiration and copy? Does an impression become a memory that recurs again during a moment of creation? Is referring an unconscious process?
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