From The Straits Times    |

 

If we had to pick three of the hottest fashion brands right now and what “fashion archetypes” they represent, we can immediately tell you that it’s the eccentric librarian at Gucci, sexy rock chick at Saint Laurent and the post-soviet union bag lady at Balenciaga.

But, when Demna Gvasalia of the latter brand and his wicked mind and eye isn’t designing the latest it-bag, shoe, jewellery, coat (and the list goes on), he’s directing his focus on creating a coffee table book documenting the behind the scenes of his FW’18 show.

 

The Balenciaga staple: a five-layered coat that we’ve shot in a fashion story here. Fyi, it’s at least four kilograms.

But, unlike the usual process of buying and owning a coffee table book (purchase, flip through and then display it in hopes of house guests noticing it), the Balenciaga FW’18 book doesn’t rely on text to figuratively talk about the collection. Instead, it’s a 304 page tome lensed by photographer Johnny Dufort and Pierre Ange Carlotti (who themselves are frequent Balenciaga collaborators) on the behind the scenes of the show: from how many assistants it takes to steam out the brand’s iconic five-layered winter coat (for us, it took three), candid photos of models (or random people casted off the street in true Demna fashion) and some odd photos which look like b-roll footage (but hey, that’s the charm of Balenciaga).

Each page of the book (and they’re printed using wood from sustainable forests) is also infused with two neon tones that look as if you’re looking at it on a computer that’s glitching and with sharp beveled edges to each page, the book has the same rigidity found in many of Balenciaga’s pieces. 


Like the sharp lines of the book, Balenciaga’s FW’18 coats are 3D-moulded to look almost architectural as they are sharp.

 “I realized that every show I do from now on for Balenciaga is cinematographic in terms of concept and setup, and each of them I’d like to accompany with some memorabilia, something that actually puts you into that show and the process behind it.” Says Gvasalia.

The Balenciaga Winter 18 book is now available on the brand’s site and retails at SGD$130.

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