Balenciaga has taken creativity too far with its muddy fashion show in Paris

Balenciaga is famous for putting out the ludicrous expressions of fashion, it’s almost like an attempt not to attempt. This year alone, Balenciaga released trash bags as bags, old worn-out shoes as shoes, their New York show had their models covered in oversized outfits and masks and now their runway show took place in a muddy plain with eerie music in the background.

Demna Gvasalia, Balenciaga's creative director made some notes on the show, "I hate boxes, I hate labels, and I hate being labelled and placed in a box."

"Individualism in fashion is downgraded to the pseudo trends dictated by a post in stories of some celebrity at the moment," per Demna's show notes.

"The set of this show is a metaphor for digging for the truth and being down to earth. Let us let everyone be anyone and make love, not war."

The show was set in a sloppy and muddy terrain, which stained the models' garments and shoes. The model had trouble moving; it almost seemed like they were dragging their feet through mud. It was even reported by Vogue that the runway smelt of rot and decay.

While we personally do not fancy Demna’s expression of art and fashion, other people did, taking note of the current state of the world and Demna’s past when he left his home country because of war.

Fashionista.com describes the show as, "A muddy moonscape. A wasteland, minefield or battleground. Ugly fields of raw materials far out from the glamour of a wealthy city. The feel of springtime streets in Eastern Europe, where Georgian creative director Demna was born.”

One of the highlights of the show was rapper and fashion entrepreneur, Kanye West walking down the runway in what looked like a security guard in a hefty bulky outfit.

Then other models followed looking beaten, battered and buffeted, some carried old torn stuffed animals, there were a lot of hoodies and torn jeans and even dolls that looked life-like.

“Naturally, I’m an optimist, but I cannot be very optimistic right now,” Demna said. “I think this show actually expresses that very much—the music, the set, it spoke about the moment in which we live.”

At the end of the show, we have to ask ourselves if there was any real creativity showcased or as usual, he was going for the shock value to entice the audience.

In as much as fashion is about creativity, functionality and beauty play an important role and in all honesty, we were bored by his expression even though we understand the sentiment.