Runway Stories

From the front, a clean, body-conscious velvet mini. From the back, a hidden cycling short, Balenciaga's Spring 2020 runway loved playing with what counts as a dress. This bubblegum-pink version, look 69 of the show, is part of the same clever velvet series that included Bella Hadid's red look two spots later. Here's the story behind the trompe l'oeil construction trick, and why this playful, technical dress stands out in Demna Gvasalia's archive.

Engulfing volume on the outside, second-skin on the inside, that was the whole tension of Balenciaga's Spring 2017 show. This purple spandex shirt, worn under a massive oversized coat in look 8, captures Demna Gvasalia's fusion of couture shapes with fetish-inspired stretch fabric, a defining idea of the entire collection. Here's the story behind the look, and why this tight, provocative basic is a genuine piece of Gvasalia's early design thesis at the house.