And the prize for the most enduring model goes to… the bride in an armor dress at Balenciaga

The bride was armored. Wednesday, July 5 at noon, the hour is solemn at Balenciaga. The brand founded in 1937 by Cristobal Balenciaga presents its latest collection in its historic salons at 10, avenue George-V, in the purest tradition of haute couture. Except for the wedding dress. If the spectators were able to be surprised by the appearances on the podium of Ines de la Fressange or a haggard-looking Isabelle Huppert, Demna kept her biggest surprise in clothing for the final passage, traditionally reserved for bridal attire. The artistic director has, in fact, replaced the white dress with a rigid and silver armor. It is up to Eliza Douglas, Demna’s favorite artist and model, to present the piece. For nearly three minutes, she engages in a slow procession to the sound of the voice of Maria Callas, offering a surreal closure to the parade.

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Felted carpet, gilded chairs and thick curtains… all the ingredients of haute couture seem to come together at the start of the afternoon in the salons of Balenciaga. The parade is even opened by Danielle Slavik, a 79-year-old model who once worked with the master. However, you should not trust this perfect reconstruction, the intention of the artistic director Demna is to follow the codes of haute couture, to better reinvent them. In particular by a strong aesthetic that is in line with the announced direction of the couturier, decided to put clothing back in the foreground after the controversy aroused by two Balenciaga advertising campaigns last winter. This martial and gleaming wedding dress in chrome resin attests to it. It required nine hundred hours of work. Freely inspired by historical pieces, and printed in 3D in several parts, including two invisibly linked for the skirt, the piece is held in place by screws. A body that does not fail to hold the attention.