Sherman Questions VIII

1. Cindy Sherman Untitled (Balenciaga), 2007
2. Roberto Cavalli Spring/Summer 2004

Another image from the infamous yet untitled Balenciaga series. But this time, Sherman's outfit feels rather Cavalli-esque. A nod from the art of high fashion to the blonde ambitions of Barbie couture?
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Image credits Cindy Sherman, Catwalking

Sherman Questions VII

1. Cindy Sherman Untitled (Balenciaga), 2008
2. Balenciaga Fall/Winter 2007

Indeed, Sherman carefully picks the clothes that are depicted with her characters. And it is not by coincidence that six portraits solely feature head-to-toe Balenciaga - as they follow the invitation by Nicolas Ghesquière. In return, the Fall/Winter 2010 collection includes printed shirts and dresses featuring quotes appropriated from Sherman reviews and interviews published in art magazines.
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Image credits Cindy Sherman, Catwalking

Postpone, Repost

Jacket Tillmann Lauterbach
Top Balenciaga
Trousers H&M
Shoes Raf Simons x Doc Martens
Sunglasses Persol
Bag Mulberry

Although these images were taken a while ago, back in Antwerp by This Is My Suit, they suddenly came to my mind again. It's less about the clothes, the leather pants, or myself, but more about this wonderful time in a city that became very dear to my heart.
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Rippchen & Kraut III

1. Cristóbal Balenciaga circa 1967
2. Marios Schwab Fall/Winter 2012
3. Valentino Fall/Winter 2012
4. Givenchy Fall/Winter 2012

My German heart feels pleased when memories of the dirndl appear. As abstract garment sculptures, laced leather versions, sexualized negligée dresses, hyper-embellished folklore costumes.
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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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Insanity Line

Balenciaga Pre-Fall 2012

Join the Balenciaga love cruise. A 48h round trip, drinks included. Throw yourself into layers of leather and polyethene. Enjoy our drag show on deck 7. Or treat yourself with an excessive shopping spree at one of our manifold discount boutiques.
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Image credits Style.com

The Craft III

1. Balenciaga Fall/Winter 2010
2. Jamie Hawkesworth for Hero Magazine
3. Bernhard Willhelm Spring/Summer 2012
4. Bruno Staub for i-D Magazine
5. Dior Spring/Summer 2001
6. D&G Fall/Winter 2011

From graffiti (part I) to typography (part II) to text collages. The assemblage of the recycled remains of our culture. Fragmented quotes, multiplied deranged messages. Copy and paste till death will tear us apart.
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Substance

Balenciaga Fall/Winter 2008

Most probably the best use of latex in fashion. A sexually connotated material that recently found its renaissance in the Spring/Summer 2011 collection of Raf Simons or the designs of Atsuko Kudo.
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Editor's note For a short history of latex in pop culture, please see Zoo Magazine #32, pages 58-59.

Post Paris IV

A false encyclopaedic guide to the prêt-à-porter collections for Spring/Summer 2012.
Fourth chapter: Balenciaga

1. Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2012
2. Mandarin Duck
3. Mark Rothko

Sharp, angular shapes detached from the female body. Yet their components create a technoid symbiosis built on natural references. I really enjoyed my latest visit to the zoo.
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