Demna will be racking up more frequent-flier miles: He is to unveil Balenciaga‘s spring 2025 women’s and men’s collections in Shanghai on May 30.
The show corresponds to the cruise 2025 season, when a handful of top European brands set off around the globe to unveil a crucial delivery with a luxuriously long selling window.
Balenciaga’s last destination resort show was held in May 2022 at the New York Stock Exchange, and last December, Demna selected Hollywood to unveil Balenciaga’s pre-fall collection, alongside buzzy collaborations with jeweler Jacob & Co. and pricey grocery chain Erewhon Market.
This will be Demna’s first fashion show in China, a linchpin market for Balenciaga, which has more stores there than any other country in the world. The biggest is located in Shanghai’s IAPM Mall.
In 2021, when international travel was impossible for Chinese citizens during the coronavirus pandemic, Balenciaga brought Demna’s first haute couture collection to Shanghai, and displayed it as the centerpiece of a five-day event, also reflecting the strategic importance of the territory.
The Balenciaga couture installation at the Tank Shanghai museum in 2021.
Courtesy of Balenciaga
The brand staged shows in China in 2013 and 2014, but under previous creative directors.
Demna took up the helm of the Kering-owned house in late 2015, igniting a luxury streetwear juggernaut — and making dark, oversize clothing and bulging footwear global signposts of alternative cool,
Destination cruise shows this year include Chanel in Marseille on May 2, Gucci in London on May 13 and Max Mara in Venice on June 11.
Louis Vuitton has scheduled its cruise show for May 23, while Dior has penciled in June 3, with locations yet to be revealed.