Nicole Kidman, oversize as ever, and an original collaboration with Erewhon

For the first show in its history in Los Angeles, Balenciaga kept the event a secret. On Friday, journalists and guests received a package containing a silver ingot in the shape of an energy bar, a nod to the healthy lifestyle of Los Angeles and also to the collaboration imagined with Erewhon.

 
The Los Angeles-based natural food and products grocery store, which has nine boutiques in California, was chosen by Demna, the artistic director of the Balenciaga house, for a unique collaboration. Revealed in the early hours of the show, the partnership featured a charcoal-based drink available in all the brand’s stores, complemented by a line of T-shirts and sweatshirts featuring the names of both houses.

Announced at the last minute, the location in Hancock Park, an ultra-chic Los Angeles residential neighborhood known for its collection of Tudor and Italian Renaissance-style mansions and houses, had guests arriving on a stretch of Windsor Boulevard full of palm trees and completely cordoned off for the occasion.

On the tarmac, with a view of the Hollywood sign in the background, appeared the first celebrities. A merry mix that included Kim Kardashian in embroidered leggings and her army of bodyguards, Eva Longoria, Kendall Jenner, Salma Hayek with her husband François-Henri Pinault, also CEO of the Kering group, actor and singer Aron Piper, Cole Sprouse, Lil Kayne and the rapper 2Chains smoking cannabis with delight.
 
But the star of the show was Nicole Kidman. Named the brand’s new ambassador, the actress looked stunning in a long velvet black dress with a high and wide collar and matching gloves. “Balenciaga has been with me through some of the most memorable events in my life, from my wedding, to the Oscars red carpet,” said Kidman. “I’m excited to work with Balenciaga as an ambassador and look forward to creating more memories together.”

 
With techno music by Demna’s husband, Loïk Gomez aka BFRND, the Balenciaga pre-Autumn/Winter 2024 collection show kicked off with a silhouette of a shirtless, sporty man, towel over shoulder and phone to ear. Very LA. 

Resonating well with the Los Angeles/California lifestyle, the first chapter of the show featured a succession of athleticwear outfits alternating between super baggy and tight and sexy skinnies, as black leggings layered with long shorts, hoodies and bras. Most of the models were holding paper shopping bags printed with the Erewhon logo and wearing sneakers that were even more oversized than usual.

This was followed by a series of tracksuits, including a candy-pink model reminiscent of Barbie or Paris Hilton from the Juicy Couture era, always paired with thongs and coffee cups. 

“Some people might think my work is ironic, but it just reflects the love I feel for the city of Los Angeles,” Demna explained. “Los Angeles is my favorite city in the world, and my teenage influences and fashion references were fed by Hollywood music and movies.”

The Fall/Winter collection brought together all Demna’s styles and played on volumes garments, all accessorized with bags, XXXXL boots, caps combined with sweatshirt armholes. In long black boots and a tight black turtleneck sweater, Brigitte Nielsen, star of movies Rocky IV and Beverly Hills Cop 2, appeared sublime, giant and fantastic. 

“There’s something about icons with this collection, like Nicole Kidman, our new ambassador, and Brigitte Nielsen and Cardi B, who accepted to walk at the show,” added Demna. “I did this project with Andy Warhol in mind in a way, and I also love this show because it represents diversity in its greatest multitude, in terms of bodies, age, gender, anonymity and celebrity. A diversity that represents Los Angeles, and that corresponds exactly to what I naturally like to do at Balenciaga.”

This was followed by a series of neo-grunge looks and tailoring, and a final, very red-carpet chapter with a series of long voluminous dresses, buxom Hollywood heroine gowns in the manner of singer Cardi B. appearing wrapped in a long cobalt-blue faux fur coat, and also outsized feathered coats, oversized scarves, all perfectly cut to set Hollywood alight.

The finale was a spectacular gown revealing a dramatic, enigmatic and fantastical queen-like silhouette, crowned with a large cylindrical collar, revealing only her eyes, and holding in her hand a clutch bag in the shape of a pump.

Balenciaga’s day in Los Angeles continued late into the night, with a first after-show at the Sunset Tower Hotel and another awaited by Cardi B. at Whisky a Go Go, one of West Hollywood’s music temples. After 1 a.m., when the singer decided not to go on stage, the disappointed audience quietly went home. A Hollywood whim that ruined the party.