Balenciaga’s Fall 2018 Collection is the New Shape of Things

It’s been about two years since Demna Gvasalia skyrocketed to the to the top of fashion’s inner circle with his creative director appointment at Balenciaga and the simultaneous meteoric rise of  his own label, Vetements.

For the fall ’18 collection, which included both men’s and women’s looks, Gvasalia was able to pull together what he has already done for Balenciaga into a concise vision for what the brand represents now, and thus, how it’s shaping fashion today and tomorrow — quite literally.

The designer invested in a computer-enabled 3D molded tailoring process in which bodies are scanned and fittings are done digitally, with the 3D molds printed out and fabrics (wool, velvet, etc.) are bonded to lightweight foam. The result was outerwear, skirts, and bodycon dresses with sharp edges and proportions in line with the tailoring traditions of Balenciaga’s legacy.

The sharp looks were accompanied by colorful legwear worn over stiletto heels, a styling-technique-turned-hybrid-boot that Gvasalia has employed in previous collections. Here, the footwear was bright and opaque, in Yves Klein blue and medium sea green or in playful prints, such as a ’60s-like blue-and-yellow flower print, a black-and-white gingham and even a zebra print.

The sharp tailor nouveau of the house could also be seen in the shoes, with traditional styles that have been altered ever so slightly to appear futuristic and entirely unique to Balenciaga. A basic pump in black or white was given an in-between toe that wasn’t round and wasn’t pointy, a closing of toe cleavage and a stacked heel that still had the elongation and elegance of a stiletto.

See more fall ’18 styles on the runway at Paris Fashion Week.