Le Boudoir Numérique takes the opportunity of the new Balenciaga's fall 2019 campaign, featuring models wandering, in huge landscapes, mobile phone in hand, to look at the way the creative director of Balenciaga, Demna Gvasalia questions the links between man and technology, through his art, fashion.

By Ludmilla Intravaia

Models in their bubble. Wandering in the desert vastness of the natural environment, in Morocco, on the island of Lanzarote or in the public space of the city, Balenciaga silhouettes move in a sparse scenography.

 These are the images of the new Balenciaga fall 2019 campaign, signed by photographer Jean-Pierre Attal. Inspired by one of his previous series, "Ethnographic Landscapes", exploring "the anonymous intimacy of urban society" and his video "Urban Chronicles", photos and film evoke individuals "uprooted", moving in packs but still " emotionally iworlds away", can one read on his website.

On Jean-Pierre Attal’s images, some of the models talk on their phone or consult the screen of their mobile device. An addictive accessory that obviously arouses the interest of the creative director of Balenciaga, Demna Gvasalia, also founder of the brand Vetements. "In public transport, I realized that there were people taking pictures of me or watching what I was doing on my phone," said the Georgian designer in the French edition of Vogue magazine, on 17 January, 2019, speaking about "Anti Social", his Vetements collection autumn-winter 2019-2020. To illustrate this invasion of privacy due to social networks and electronic devices, Demna Gvasalia designed outfits to consult your phone, away from prying eyes. Only a glow, under the clothes, indicates its presence. 

"My collection reflects my general state of mind. I do not fashion to decorate people. I want to use it as a tool to communicate my ideas", said the next day, Demna Gvasalia to Fashion Network website : "I am interested in the future, in the topics that are important for everyone. The smartphone is part of the ethical and cultural revolution (...) Internet, that's what allows us to hide our identity, it's a lot of good things but also bad ones. I am aware of this and I would like to convey this message to others."

This concern for the drift of media and social networks, in an increasingly digital world, is also present at Balenciaga. Already, its summer campaign 2018 featured models harassed by paparazzi.

On September 30, 2018, the French house chose to collaborate with Jon Rafman for a video installation during the Balenciaga summer 2019 show in Saint-Denis, near Paris. The Canadian artist, well known for questioning the impact of technology and digital media on our society, had imagined a tunnel lighted with LEDs, curved from floor to ceiling, in wich models walked, with a robotic attitude, in a flow of immersive and oppressive images, like in the heart of a giant computer.

Last February, the film of the summer 2019 campaign, signed by the same Jon Rafman payed tribute to the SF trilogy Matrix from the Wachowski sisters.

Similarly, the film of the Balenciaga Spring 2019 campaign, released in November 2018 on Instagram, was directed by digital artist Yilmaz Sen who delivered models writhing in all directions, under the impulse of unbridled pixels.

No wonder, in this context, that the brand has finally made a shift to pure fashion tech. Balenciaga has, indeed, embellish its model Track sneakers with a LED light sole for men and women. Light emitting diode shoes are now not only the privilege of kids but also of fashionistas with pockets deep enough to pay the 995 US dollars needed for the acquisition of this accessory as tech as bling.

Continue your reading about Balenciaga in this Boudoir Numérique article : “Cardi B, Lady Gaga and Dita Von Teese, all 3D fashionistas”.