Georgian designer Demna Gvasalia is the designer Balenciaga owes its return to the top and success to. Discover the story of a designer who has a knack for not only fashion but also business.
Demna Gvasalia's career is an unattainable model for many budding designers. For more than 10 years, he has been marrying his artistic aspirations with business intuition and knowledge about the hottest hits. The right contacts and experience gained from other well-known designers resulted in the popularity growth of the Balenciaga brand – a brand which the designer has been leading uninterruptedly since 2015.
Demna Gvasalia: A designer bred for success
Demna Gvasalia hails from the famous Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. Since 2006 he has collaborated with Walter van Beirendonck, one of the "Antwerp Six" – a group of avant-garde Belgian designers to which Ann Demeulemeester and Dries van Noten also belong. Looking at their projects from the 80s, one can get the impression that they are fresh proposals from the last two seasons.
The foundation for Gvasalia's way of thinking and creating fashion was also built by his collaboration with Martin Margiela, who also comes from the avant-garde school in Antwerp. It was based on creatively processing (upcycling) unused fabric remnants and patterns that did not make it into production. High-class, meticulous tailoring, experiments with textures and material textures, and a pop-cultural "dialogue" with the audience using clothes is what distinguishes the designer from the crowd of contemporary creators.
Demna Gvasalia - Balenciaga
Since 2015 Gvasalia has been associated with Balenciaga. The designer immediately proposed several projects that gained almost viral popularity. One of them was a bag-triplet, a combination of an Ikea bag and a characteristic XXL net typical for carrying goods on post-Soviet bazaars. Another such symbol product is the Balenciaga Triple S footwear model - sneakers with a triple sole. This model initiated the popularity of the trend for massive, "ugly" sports shoes. High-platform Crocs were also a big success.
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Silk shirt
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Coat with logo
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Printed hoodie
Demna Gvasalia attracted millennials and "Z generation" - twenty-year-olds to the Balenciaga brand. What percentage of the brand's success is due to Demna Gvasalia? Balenciaga recorded a 100% increase in sales in the first quarter of 2018. For comparison, in Gucci it was "only" 49%. The crowning of the Georgian’s creative work for both brands was the prestigious award from the American Designers Association (CFDA).
Balenciaga brand, from its inception, under Cristobal Balenciaga, was a light, yet avant-garde departure from contemporary, popular Dior's New Look designs. In the 50s and 60s, Cristobal proposed, in contrast to Dior, large volumes, including famous cocoon coats, babydoll dresses, bulbous skirts and dresses, and tunics, costumes and dresses inspired by the Renaissance era in Spanish history (the homeland of Cristobal). It remains avant-garde to this day. It respects tradition while translating it into the language of contemporary fashion.
