For the first time since Nicolas Ghesquière's stint in 2003, on Sunday, May 22,2022, Creative Director Demna Gvasalia brought back Balenciaga to New York City, welcoming visitors to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) for the fashion house’s Spring 2023 collection as the brand announced plans on accepting certain cryptocurrencies as a form of payment.
As an invitation, the designer sent out invites in the shape of fake stacks of cash prior to the fashion show. The phony $100 banknotes include the inscription "BALENCIAGA SPRING 23 SHOW" on them, indicating the specifics of the show.
The notes smell like real cash and are wrapped in a Balenciaga money strap.
Public figures such as Bryan Boy, Kanye West, Christine Quinn of "Selling Sunset", Megan Thee Stallion, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Anna Wintour and other fashion folks and personalities sat on stools that jumbled through the mess of broadcast booths inside the towering room where corporate leaders usually congregate to buy and sell stocks.
Models strutted down the runway in a full-body latex unitard with pinholes for the eyes and lips, worn beneath tailored suits and corporate uniforms coined as "Garde-Robe" that are seemingly inspired by office wear and outfits by white-collar workers in the Financial District of Downtown Manhattan, where the New York Stock Exchange office is located.
Meanwhile, the Balenciaga x Adidas collaboration was also released on the show, the collection combined Adidas' distinctive triple-stripe design with Balenciaga's loose-fitting shape and style, from baggy sweatpants, to casual sporty wear and chunky shoes, it's a high-fashion and streetwear mashup that's already selling out fast.
Complete Balenciaga x Adidas Collection | Available to shop now until May 29, 2022 at www.balenciaga.com.
Demna is known for his expressive and outlandish creative concept in his fashion shows. On Balenciaga‘s Winter 2022 360° Collection runway show at Paris Fashion Week, guests were given damaged Apple iPhone 6 engraved with invites for the show as models tromped through an ersatz blizzard.