Balenciaga Workwear? Sky High Farm Makes It So
Balenciaga's cheeky deconstruction of fashion industry norms has seen the label juxtapose its luxurious wares against all manner of unconventional settings. But a farm? That's new.
And, yet, here we are. Sky High Farm Workwear has repurposed two styles of Balenciaga staples for a collaboration of sorts, remixing the garments for the sake of charity.
The end result is a little luxe, a little lived-in, and very approachable.
First, a little background: Sky High Farm is an independent nonprofit based in upstate New York that practices eco-conscious agriculture and donates all of the food that it cultivates to food banks and similar organizations, allowing underserved communities access to nutritious organic produce and meat.
Sky High Farm Workwear is a separate clothing label within the SHF universe.
Operated by ex-COMME des GARÇONS & Dover Street Market employee Daphne Seybold and Gagosian-represented artist Dan Colen, SHFWW is both produced and distributed Dover Street Market's 3537 incubator alongside similarly progressive indie labels like AIREI and Eli Russell Linnetz's ERL.
The difference between SHFWW and the above brands is that all proceeds generated by Sky High Farm Workwear go back to Sky High Farm.
Though its primary focus is on its own seasonal collections, SHFWW has also issued collaborations with the likes of Converse and COMME des GARÇONS SHIRT, the latter of which participated in this donation project back in April.
That's how we got here. Now, where are we?
Sky High Farm Workwear's Balenciaga partnership centers around donated denim jackets and shirts in white and washed-out black, respectively, and they'll be available exclusively at Dover Street Market's American and London stores and respective websites.
Each garment has been reworked with SHFWW's embroidered strawberry and moon logo on the front and, on the rear, a photograph taken by Ryan McGinley showing a cute critter that lives on Sky High Farm, be it rooster, lamb, or pig. Inside, there's co-branding and a brief message of Sky High Farm Workwear's charitable intent, thus allowing the garments to be worn reversibly if the wearer craves a hit of bold-faced branding.
It's hardly Balenciaga's wildest partnership to date — or even this month — but not everything Balenciaga does is for the sake of triggering the fashion-averse masses, of course.
Balenciaga has long partnered with the World Food Programme for the sake of combatting food insecurity — a goal shared by Sky High Farm — and creative director Demna recently partnered with Ukraine's state-managed charity, Ukraine24, for a limited edition charitable T-shirt.
