At this point, we all know what Demna is capable of and what he leans towards—big shoulders, oversized silhouettes, loads of black, futuristic sunglasses, layers over layers over layers, a mix of sporty tracksuits and the most glamorous yet edgy gowns. His Spring/Summer 2025 collection for Balenciaga included all of these, of course, but also dared to explore uncharted territory like lingerie and continued finding new, innovative ways to construct garments, from backless silk dresses with corset-style tightlacing closures to ‘superlowaist’ denim pants cut into thigh-high boots with technical knit interiors.
Before the show, Demna shared some personal hand-written notes about the collection: “My early memories of fashion start with me drawing looks on cardboard, cutting them out and making ‘fashion shows’ on my grandma’s kitchen table. Thirty-five years later, this show reconnects me to the beginning of my vision. It’s a tribute to fashion that has a point of view.” After nine years at the helm of the House, he has proved this point of view time and time again, which is rooted in Balenciaga’s history but with an eye on the future, on what’s next. He’s actually been one of the main agents driving change in the industry for almost a decade.
The collection opened shockingly with a handful of lingerie looks—lots of lace, garters, sheer opera gloves, and well-constructed bras. But this isn’t an Agent Provocateur show, so of course Demna gave these looks a twist. Instead of going down the catwalk naked, the models wore skin-tone bodysuits and pantashoes with encrusted, embroidered, and knitted jackard trompe-l’oeil lingerie detailing. The ‘final’ look of the ‘underwear’ section also sported a massive faux fur coat reminiscent of female characters who go to a spicy date like that, connecting once again with the collective imaginary and pop culture.
After those, several looks continued on Demna’s recognisable codes for the House: massive, cocoon-like jackets in denim, nylon, knit, or leather; oversized hoodies, some of which read ‘fashion designer’ or ‘human being’, and flowy silk dresses with structured shoulders. Other garments tapping into Balenciaga’s rich heritage of incredible construction and pattern-making included the open back bustier frames in flexible spandex, which were wrapped around the models’ torsos seemingly like bracelets, the perfecto jackets and coats with funnel necked collars that double as bustiers to transform garments into dresses, or, the two closing looks, especially the scuba satin gown.
Only a month away from the American elections, Demna could’ve chosen to release an ironic collectionas he did back in 2017 when re-appropriating the Bernie Sanders slogan as well as other codes. He could’ve also played with other pop culture elements. However, he’s decided to follow a less polemic path that focuses more on clothes rather than gimmicks, while continuing the explore the endless ways he can expand the Balenciaga codes.


























