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In Balenciaga’s Summer 24 Collection, the Past Becomes the Prologue

Bathrobes for coats, tablecloths for dresses, shoes for bags and garments assembled upside down, larger than life, or pieced together from forgotten fabrics: this is the stuff of childhood games of dress-up. It is also the foundation of Balenciaga’s summer 24 collection, which brings to life creative director Demna’s personal connection to fashion.

balenciaga summer 2024 collection

Photo: Bohdan Bohdanov

Focused on weaving the deeply personal into the performative precision that Balenciaga has become known for, the fashion house‘s summer 2024 collection takes us on a journey through Demna’s sources of inspiration.

balenciaga summer 2024 collection

Photo: Bohdan Bohdanov

We begin with an ode to the creative director’s mother: an upcycled boxy car coat made of three deconstructed and repurposed vintage garments. While its tailoring maintains the house’s signature attitude and technique, a 2D effect creates the appearance of a flat, straight shoulder without shoulder pads. Together with wide cuts and creases engineered in English wool with a couturier’s precision, the result is a coat that looks and feels something like a mother’s hug.

From the oversized to the over-the-top, there are bright faux-vinyl circle dresses made from retro floral tablecloths, and upcycled gowns created with pieces sourced from vintage shops around Europe and the United States. Both garments give us a glimpse into the roots of the unexpected, playful journeys of discovery that Demna has brought to Balenciaga.

balenciaga summer 2024 collection

Photo: Bohdan Bohdanov

Adding to the collection’s sense of nostalgic revelry is a biker jacket built of recycled deadstock leather panels. With widened, dismantled necklines, designed to be worn off the shoulder and dropped on the arms, they take the effort out of effortless style.

From memory lane, the collection detours slightly into a dream – Demna’s dream wedding, perhaps – featuring an amalgamation of seven wedding dresses from the pre-2000’s that have been cut, tiered and stacked together to create an all-new garment. Fine jewelry reminiscent of antique store treasures adds a bold romance to it all.

Photo: Bohdan Bohdanov

The walk down Demna’s memory lane would not be complete without footwear, and this new collection stays true to Balenciaga’s repertoire of exaggerated proportions and sleek silhouettes with oversized cargo sneakers and tennis socks on heels.

Playing not just with proportion, but with perceptions too, summer 2024’s accessories include the Rodeo bag with a built-in open flap to create the illusion of a classic leather carrier, stilettos and classic derbies that are transformed into clutches, and a wallet resembling passport – complete with leather boarding passes.

balenciaga summer 2024 collection

Photo: Bohdan Bohdanov

More than a seasonal collection, Balenciaga’s summer 2024 line is a tribute to some of the rich, varied and deeply personal stories that make up that which we call ‘fashion’.

balenciaga summer 2024 collection

Photo: Bohdan Bohdanov

Style: Pablo Patane 
Hair: Tomoko Ohama
Makeup: Maria Olsson
Producer: Danica Zivkovic 
Local producer: Benedetta Urbini at Gilda Production
Talent: Jessica Aïdi Verratti 

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