Retrospective: Kering celebrates Demna Gvasalia’s fashion creations for Balenciaga

The ‘Balenciaga by Demna’ exhibition was held at Kering. Open until July 9, 2025, it traced Gvasalia’s journey as creative director of Balenciaga, from 2015 to 2025.

The cross-shaped installation had a religious feel. It began with a photocopy of the first email exchange between Balenciaga and Gvasalia, in which the brand stated it was not interested in his services. Ironically, ‘Balenciaga by Demna’ showed how the Georgian designer created an original artistic field, differentiating the fashion house from other luxury brands and establishing it as a hyper-contemporary label.

The exhibition revealed his main source of inspiration was everyday objects, to which he gave a luxurious dimension: passports and boarding passes; dollars; shopping bags; and, most strikingly, a bag of spicy chilli crisps turned into a handbag.

Gvasalia explained the creative process behind each piece (accessory or garment) via an audio system. Regarding the crisps, he recounted arriving at the studio one day without a bag and putting his belongings in the crisp packet, thus sparking an idea for the marketers.

Another fundamental aspect of his stylistic narrative, which built upon the previous one, was repurposing; a principle likely inherited from his experience at Margiela. A dress made from a compilation of bras; a jacket formed with used leather boots; T-shirts and hoodies assembled to create a dress; and cowboy boots turned into a bag were all inspiring demonstrations of upcycling.

‘Demna by Balenciaga’: reconstruction of a contemporary cultural heritage

Iconic pieces remained, such as the Speed Trainer (2017). ‘This was the first trainer we created at Balenciaga. It has a technical sock-like upper attached to an ultralight sole,’ Gvasalia explained in a voiceover. ‘I wanted a trainer that you could just slip on without having to tie laces or anything. Just an easy, practical and comfortable shoe. It has since become a product that has completely redefined the way we design shoes and has led to a whole new aesthetic for trainers globally.’

Another example was the haute couture bell dress in rigid guipure lace. ‘It has no visible structural elements, apart from a few invisibly placed threads inside, which allows for a true moulding of the silhouette, inspired by the paintings of Velázquez,’ Gvasalia commented. ‘The dress was designed and crafted to be as fluid and seamless as possible, then shaped using a technique called “blocking”, a process that took an almost infinite amount of time to achieve.’

References to sportswear and workwear were present, as were deconstructed suits with broad shoulders. However, there was no allusion to the negative publicity that had surrounded Balenciaga. The visit ended with a ‘thank you’ from the designer, in French, and visitors received a magazine-style catalogue compiling all the exhibited pieces.

Gvasalia’s subsequent role at Kering, as creative director of Gucci, was alluded to through a bag from the Gucci × Balenciaga ‘Hacker Project’ collaboration (2021). The monogram of the former Italian fashion house bore the inscription: ‘This is not a Gucci bag’. What the future ‘it’ bag for Gucci would be remained to be seen.

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