Balenciaga seeks to reset the narrative with haute couture revival

Demna Gvasalia bids to claim back ground lost to likes of pandemic trendsetters Nike and Netflix

In his six years at Balenciaga, the Georgian fashion designer Demna Gvasalia has put Crocs plastic sandals and Bernie Sanders campaign merchandise on the Paris catwalks. The windows of the Avenue Montaigne boutique have framed a £1,600 version of Ikea’s distinctive blue nylon Frakta tote bag and, this season, a £2,000 hi-vis jacket in lurid yellow nylon.

This week, in his strangest move to date, Gvasalia revived the haute couture branch of Balenciaga, which closed in 1968. Haute couture, where taffeta ballgowns are created to fit the tastes and measurements of the monied elite, seems an unlikely area of interest for the designer, whose first Balenciaga show half a decade ago kickstarted a global renaissance for the puffer jacket that is still going strong.