Balenciaga and the Spanish fashion house's first trip to the land of a billion people

Beneath the vibrant, dynamic skyline of Shanghai, China, Balenciaga presented its Cruise 2025 collection, which draws on the brand's past, present and future design philosophies.

It can be said that this is a collection with a strong Balenciaga style under Demna Gvasalia, with a full mix of luxury and streetwear, rebellion with discrete details, not following any fixed concept.

Although it has more stores in China than anywhere else in the world , this is the first time Balenciaga has shown in the country, and the show has been in the planning for a long time.

Against a stunning backdrop of shimmering fluorescent industrial towers - simulating the twinkling of the cosmos in the night sky - models walked the runway at Shanghai's renowned Pudong Art Museum.

Here, in one of the region’s leading fashion capitals, Demna Gvasalia tapped into the city’s signature vibrant, youthful and avant-garde silhouettes, creating a collection that included experimental styles that allowed new-age digital designs to blend with vintage inspiration.

The most striking thing about this collection is the length and oversized style of most of the designs, especially the coats. Blazers, trench coats, leather jackets, bomber jackets, fur coats, etc. are all in dark colors and have long, floor-length or baggy shapes.

Short dresses combined with knee-high socks, printed silk shirts worn with knee-high boots - these are famous combinations of Balenciaga, representing modern street fashion style.

Besides, we definitely cannot ignore the towering metal-toe boots and the extremely prominent high-soled sneakers .

Both designs are inspired by the majestic verticality of Pudong's iconic skyscrapers.

At the end of the show, Balenciaga presented a series of haute couture-inspired gowns crafted from recycled materials. Travel bags and crumpled gold leaf wrapping paper were pieced together and rolled into a sleek tube dress with opera gloves.

Meanwhile, two voluminous dresses were made from Tyvek paper—a subtle homage to one of China’s greatest inventions. A classic black velvet dress was embellished with sparkling appliques, clearly showing off the opulence of the upper class. For the striking pink dress that closed the collection, Balenciaga’s craftsmen hand-cut decades-old plastic bags into thin strips and tied them with string to create the visual effect of soft feathers.

Original Balenciaga silhouettes and archival designs have been repurposed into new handbags, sneaker boxes transformed into eye-catching clutches.

Like most of his ready-to-wear collections, creative director Demna didn’t have a clear concept or theme for this collection. It all came from the designer’s personal aesthetic combined with Balenciaga’s original DNA.

“There’s really no hidden agenda behind it. I did this collection instinctively, based on what I like, what excites me, what makes me passionate. With this show, I wanted to find a new kind of balance with Balenciaga between all the different aspects of my aesthetic and style,” Demna shared about the Balenciaga Cruise 2025 collection./.