Georgian Demna, stylist for Balenciagahad to flee the war and made fashion a “battlefield”, pushing the limits with disturbing shows and shocking messages.
His first parade after the controversy he created at the end of last year will take place on Sunday in “a deliberately simple setting so that everyone can focus on the collection”, ppromised Demna, accused of sexualizing children in an advertising campaign.
The designer, cited among the 100 most influential personalities in the world by Time, made his mea culpa and promised to change his “provocative approach” in the way you design and display your clothing.
“I have always known how to grow and evolve from the tests I have gone through in my life and this is clearly the most difficult of all”, he stated in an interview with Vogue.
After the campaign that mixes children and sadomasochistic-inspired accessories, Kim Kardashian – who had caused a sensation fully masked in a black Balenciaga suit at the Met Gala in 2021 – affirmed that, as “mother of four children” wanted to “re-evaluate” their relationship with the brand.
Demna apologized personally and Balenciaga multiplied the projects with associations for the protection of children.
The episode seems to have been forgotten, but nothing will be like before.
“One can make mistakes in a group like Kering. But you can’t do the same thing twice.”highlighted François Henri Pinault, president of the group to which the brand belongs.
“The rampant creation worked quite well but it will have to be tamed a bit”underlines Arnaud Cadart, portfolio manager at Flornoy Ferri.
A refugee forever
Balenciaga had to cut ties with rapper Kanye West, a friend of Demna’s, in October after his anti-Semitic excesses.
Three weeks earlier, Kanye West himself had opened the Balenciaga show in Paris. “The house can do without this, especially when these elements may not be well understood or misinterpreted”stressed François Henri Pinault.
However, Demna’s ability to integrate everyone from American rapper Cardi B to French actress Isabelle Huppert, make T-shirts, design haute couture or get it “ugly” -like platform crocs or trash bags- either “desirable”, made Balenciaga a separate brand that exceeded 1,000 million dollars in sales.
“Demna seeks to change the stereotypes of normality and luxury. She explores the world today with this uncompromising vision, and this persistence in speaking explains her success.”Serge Carreira, a professor at Science Po, a specialist in luxury and fashion, told AFP in December.
A year ago, the designer dedicated his show to Ukraine, invaded by Russia a few days before, parading under a snow storm “refugees” half-naked men carrying garbage bags, later sold for more than $1,500.
“I saw myself 30 years ago”he explained. Demna Gvasalia, who recently dropped her last name for her fashion portrayals, was born in Sukhumi, Abkhazia, region of the then Soviet Republic of Georgia.
In the 1990s, after the fall of the USSR, he fled with his family from the “ethnic cleansing” of Georgians by pro-Russian separatists.
“The war in Ukraine awakened the pain and trauma that I had in me (…) I became a refugee forever,” said.
Graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp (Belgium), he went through Maison Margiela and Vuitton, before creating the Vetements brand with his brother in 2014 (he left it in 2019), and was later appointed artistic director of Balenciaga in 2015.
In an interview with Vanity Fair magazine in 2021, he said that fashion was “a battle” for him, hence the “aggression and darkness” of his creations.
Source: AFP
Source: Gestion
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
