Inside Balenciaga: The Subtleties of a Dialogue

Hi friends,

Fall came overnight to Paris. The skies are grey and all the color from my balcony seems to have faded away into a haze. The seemingly endless rainy days of Parisian autumn and winter are back.

My seasonal depression has already begun to creep up on me but the presence of fall means there are a few things to look forward to including fall fashion, hot chocolate, and European Heritage Days.

Journées européennes du patrimoine, AKA European Heritage Days, is a continental cultural festival that allows the public to discover monuments, government buildings, castles, and other destinations for free. Some of the most exciting places to visit are those that are typically closed to the public like The Elysée Palace. I tried to get free tickets to Cartier, L’Oreal, and Boucheron’s expositions but every ticket seemed to be claimed within the first hour.

Luckily for me, there’s always Kering. I’ve been attending the Kering Group’s Open House event every year since I moved to Paris. Kering is a luxury group that owns Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, and Brioni. The Group always owns Boucheron and Pomellato and luxury eyewear and beauty brands. There are two parts to the visit. The first part featuring a curated contemporary art exhibition from the Pinault Collection and the second, a display of archival couture pieces from Cristóbal Balenciaga and the current creative director, Demna. As a fashion girly, this is my superbowl weekend.

Here are some photos from inside the exhibition. Starting with the Pinault Collection: The Praise of Space.

In the next room, I entered the Balenciaga part of the exhibition which showcased various archival couture pieces each highlighting a different detail of design. From a study on collars to the cocoon silhouette, the exposition highlighted the transcendence of trends, design, and details from Cristóbal Balenciaga to the modern age of Demna.

I wore my grandmother’s vintage overcoat paired with my vintage Italian loafers that I recently thrifted for only six euros here in Paris.

As always, thank you so much for taking the time to read my latest blog post. Experiencing such iconic and important pieces in fashion in person is always such a source of inspiration for me. Fashion is always evolving but the passion and the desire to tell stories through the things we wear never changes.

À bientôt,

Kiana