'Fit Battle: Balenciaga's FW22 Front Row
Fashion is still recovering from the internet-breaking spectacle that was Balenciaga's Fall/Winter 2022 show, an affair packed with headline-making elements: its acknowledgement of the Russia-Ukraine war, its wintry special effects, a potential Apple collaboration, and the attendance of a certain celebrity, wrapped in Balenciaga-branded caution tape.
But there was more to the show than — spoiler alert — Kim Kardashian's sticky bodysuit. Balenciaga dressed a slew of other VIP attendees (a roster that, thankfully, did not include Kanye West).
Euphoria's Alexa Demie donned a pair of two-in-one leather skirt-pants, paired with a super-oversized button down.
Isabelle Huppert, a longtime Balenciaga collaborator, exuded French cool in an understated, all-black 'fit — save for a highlighter green handbag.
Lil Baby geared up in a motocross-inspired jacket and pants, topped off with Balenciaga's streamlined biker boots.
French musician and model Yseult wore a deconstructed coat with gigantic shoulders, a silhouette that's become a Demna Gvasalia speciality.
Among the goldmine of front row looks were some misses, too. Salma Hayek-Pinault, typically a sartorial front-runner, looked strangely pedestrian in a silk slip skirt and black turtleneck, layered under a rumpled blue button down.
And Chiara Ferragni, fashion blogging's First Lady, gave bathrobe couture in some sort of terrycloth trench coat paired with equally baggy denim boots. A poor man's Julia Fox raccoon eye finished off the lackluster look.
So who takes the cake as Balenciaga's front row winner?
I may have put my foot in my mouth by downplaying Kim K's attendance. As chic as, say, Huppert and Demie looked, their totally tonal outfits faded into the background when placed next to Kardashian's bright yellow bodysuit.
And, while most attendees flaunted shining examples of Gvasalia's penchant for angular, oversized proportions, Kardashian did the complete opposite in an ensemble that lent zero room for bathroom breaks, much less breathing.
By dressing the reality star in a look completely perpendicular to the rest of her celebrity cohort, Gvasalia sent a very clear message: Kim Kardashian does not play by your rules.
