Balenciaga Spring 2009 Collection
Sci-fi Couture. That is what best describes Nicolas Ghesquière’s collection for this season at the Balenciaga Atelier.
The collection featured silvered Lurex over skin to cover the hands, legs and feet, drapes and structures combined asymmetrically, bonded jersey pantsuits with A-line tunic tops, very fine metallic crinkle-pleated jackets and pale suede pieces that are like tops with an embossed vest-like structure. For the cocktails, there were multiple sequined sheath dresses, some mixed with sequined jackets, some none except for the Lurex streaking. There were also dresses with frill-like skirts. The color palette started off with matte shades of baby pink and flesh-tones, building up to the glistening shades of gold, pewter, pink, green, silver seen on the dresses. For accessories, there was a shiny, chic clutch bag for every single look.
The incessant innovations of Nicolas Ghesquière have put the Balenciaga Atelier at the forefront of contemporary fashion, as is seen from this collection’s evolution of pants, which looked like sophisticated motocross. His experimentation on the fabrics and his optimal juxtaposition of drapes and structures has always been admired by fashion critics and the House’s fans, both old and new. His fascination towards futurism and sci-fi is mixed with his flair in making haute couture as prêt-a-porter (ready-to-wear) as possible. Apart from that, he offers tasteful mixing of pieces as is seen from his sequined sheath dresses, evidenced from his last Resort collection of grunge 90s. From the fourth look of blush-hued A-line tunic top onwards, the show gets better, building into a climax of scintillating sequined sheath dresses, during the finale. The meticulous details he made for the collection is exquisitely contemporary and even a little bit avant-garde, either on the men’s tuxedos or the women’s jackets. One look that stood out to me was this silver tuxedo-esque jacket with crinkled pleating on the circular shoulders and silver pants (PICTURED) because it reflects the very essence of Ghesquière’s work, sci-fi meets couture translated to ready-to-wear. The silver jacket has some pink, purple and blue details on the right sleeve and on the lower part of the jacket, while the shoulders, when hit by light, shine a lavender glisten.
These are the kind of clothing that one would prefer, not to be the same with all the others who has taken futurism as their fashion style.
For the entire collection, click this link:
http://www.style.com/fashionshows/complete/S2009RTW-BALENCIA
