Balenciaga to Return to Couture for the First Time in 52 Years

The autumn/winter 2020 couture calendar just got a very noteworthy new addition – Balenciaga.  Today, the storied luxury French fashion house has revealed that it will debut its first couture collection in 52 years this coming July.

Demna Gvasalia, the brand’s creative director, said in a statement, “Hate couture is the very foundation of this house so it is my creative and visionary duty to bring couture back to Balenciaga. For me, couture is an unexplored mode of creative freedom and a platform for innovation. It not only offers another spectrum of possibilities in dressmaking, it also brings the modern vision of Balenciaga back to its sources of origin. Couture is above trends. It’s an expression of beauty on the highest aesthetic and qualitative levels.”

Balenciaga was founded by Cristóbal Balenciaga in 1917, and 2020 marks 52 years since the house was closed by the designer.

Fashion lovers will no doubt be waiting with baited breath to see what couture looks like in the eyes of Gvasalia, who is most well-known for his waitlist-inducing sneaker and streetwear designs. The news follows the designer’s resignation from Vetements – the brand he co-founded with his brother Guran – in September of last year to focus exclusively on Balenciaga.

Cedric Charbit, the brand’s president and CEO, said in a statement, “It’s an honour to bring back haute couture to the house, highlighting the heritage of Cristóbal Balenciaga. This project was possible due to the success of the creative vision of Demna Gvasalia as well as the exceptional results of Balenciaga these past few years.” Balenciaga has become one of Kering’s most successful brands in recent years, surpassing the one billion euro mark in revenue last year. He added that the return to couture was a way of aligning the house’s “past, present and future.” Watch this space.

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