OutLoud is a fashion blog created out of love for fashion brands and designers. It must have all started when I was little, since I was raised in a fashion store. Years later, I did my studies in fashion and started working in the field. Soon, I decided to create OutLoud and do my part the way I know best. A bit of humor is all needed when sharing the latest fashion trends. Right? Currently we are exploring the collections of major fashion brands for spring/summer 2021. Have a seat!
Nowadays companies are talking about diversity. They want to prove to the public they embrace diversity and have made inclusivity one of their core values. Before we continue unravelling our thoughts, let's think for a bit. What is currently defined as diversity and inclusivity? --- Diversity: the practice or quality of including or involving people from a range of different social and ethnic backgrounds and of different genders, sexual orientations, etc. Inclusivity: the practice or policy of providing equal access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized, such as those having physical or mental disabilities or belonging to other minority groups. --- In a perfect society, diversity and inclusion would mean letting any person enter, or the chance to enter, a group of people. In such a world, we would not even think, nor be preoccupied, of other people's color, way of dressing, sexual orientation, gender, among many many others....
BALENCIAGA SS21 FASHION COLLECTION | Fashion Designer Demna Gvasalia | A world of darkness, hope and sunglasses | OutLoud
Fashion brand Balenciaga, SS21 collection by Demna Gvasalia. A fashion 'walk' in the streets of Paris with sustainability, hope, wfh, darkness, and sunglasses being at the forefront!
Yes! Was it the Rue de Rivoli in Paris? Was it the menacing-looking models? Was it the darkness with those glimpses of light? Not sure what it was, but I loved the Balenciaga SS21 'show'. Demna Gvasalia infused us with his creativity and envisioned a future of hope, despite the darkness that came with it. See for yourself.
“You know, I couldn’t wait not to do a show. It didn’t feel right with the way things are. So we’ve made a music video,” Demna Gvasalia said. Directed by Walter Stern, the video displays models marching in the streets of Paris, at night, lip-syncing the cover of Corey Hart’s “Sunglasses at Night” by BFRND. Despite the threatening look of the models Demna Gvasalia reassures us it has to do with hope. “Hope is the last thing to die. That’s the Russian saying.”
“Because some day we will be out of this.”
Hope! A man who leaves his house and “walks through the night, going through lots of changes, morphing into her, him, them. And they end up meeting as friends, going to a party or a club maybe- and everyone is without masks. That’s the hope!”
And what is the must-have accessory for the night? Look no further from the song's title. Sunglasses! "Their anatomical shape and light-obscuring lenses, especially at night, represent an irreplaceable element of the fashion silhouette," the fashion house shared.
Now! What made Balenciaga SS21's heart beat? What was the main drive behind this world? The word we are looking for iiiisss.....
... Sustainability!
“93.5% of the plain materials in this collection are either certified sustainable or upcycled. 100% of the print bases have sustainable certifications.” As Gvasalia said, “we discovered we could do it quite easily, with the exception of the fibers that are in some of the existing fabrics. There are solutions if you look for them. There’s a need to revise things. To start a new chapter.”
Upcycling was another major concept. “Time makes things beautiful. I heard a quote from Martin Margiela when I was working there, about the value of ‘the trace of time’ in clothes. That touched me deeply.” Gvasalia shared. Destroyed or aged pieces are featured to point out the unconventional beauty that hides in classic garments. Upcycled elements, such as shoelace, manifest in an artful, couture way on a coat. Different dresses are stitched together to form garments to be worn in various ways.
Another dimension that adds to this mission is the no-gender approach.
Gendered fashion is outdated!
“It became very obvious to try to do garments that are unisex, uni-size, uni-everything—or whatever we want to call it. It drastically reduced the number of cuts and fits we had to make. Also, I like the fact that according to who wears it, the silhouette changes, but whoever wears it, it looks good.”
The Work From Home concept also takes another turn in this collection. We see:
- faux shearling bathrobe coat
- layered silk pajama suit
- hotel & 'orthopedic' sandals on heels, completing the brand's collection of ugly-chic footwear.
What else could possibly boost the unconventional way the fashion house does things?
Sweatshirts are promoted as headwear accessories and the trompe l' oeil concept flourishes among denim-printed fluid silk and leather garments.
*Trompe l'oeil: visual illusion in art, especially used to trick the eye into perceiving a painted detail as a three-dimensional object.
Trompe l'oeil Example
The couture element gloriously finds its way on a sheer gown made by basketball net chains -inspired by the fisherman’s net dress by Cristóbal Balenciaga- and a slip dress made with tiny metal armor-like links.
When it comes to Bags... For its 20th anniversary, the Neo Classic Bag is 'destroyed', the Ville Bag wears its soft leather for the first time and some faux shearling engulfs its way on the Hourglass Bag.
When it comes to Shoes... X-Pander is the new family member with springy soles for playful bounces and Rhino derby comes with a pyramid on its toe.
You want to see this all for yourself? You want to see how all these manifest in the Balenciaga SS21 collection? Click here you pretty little you.
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