Demna Jets Off to Shanghai for Balenciaga Spring 2025

Ana Colón

31 May 2024 at 9:10 am·5-min read

<p>Photos: Courtesy of Balenciaga</p> — Photos: Courtesy of Balenciaga

Balenciaga showed its Spring 2025 collection (the equivalent of Resort 2025, Cruise 2025, Pre-Spring 2025 or whatever you prefer to call the season that'll deliver over the winter) on a rainy Thursday in Shanghai — marking the first time the French fashion house has staged a runway in the Chinese city.

As we often see with traveling runway shows, the collection draws from the destination, via deconstructed hourglass silhouettes, longline fits, extra-extra long sleeves and supersized platform shoes inspired by the "verticality" of the city's skyline, per the show notes. Save for a partnership with restaurant Nu Xiang Mu Dou (through June 2, you can get Balenciaga-branded dim sum and takeaway packaging, or sit underneath some Balenciaga-branded umbrellas outside) and an exclusive T-shirt in collaboration with Alipay, that's about it, though — the rest of the collection is standard Demna-era Balenciaga fare: big proportions, slick outerwear, sportswear, lots of black.

Demna's playfulness is less ironic than we've seen in his past work. It informs pieces described as "experimental semi-couture and couture" like dresses made from travel bags, Tyvek industrial paper, gold foil gift wrap and clothing rack covers. (The most spectacular is a gown made from pink plastic bags the brand notes are over 10 years old and have been "cut by hand and pierced with a wire to create a feather effect.") It also appears, though less compellingly, in the accessories offering, specifically in a leather clutch mimicking the look of a sneaker box and a chain bag with a belt-like buckle closure. There's also very Y2K sweatsuit with gold foil screenprinted over an abstract black flame-like print and jeans slung way low, belted over the groin. (The very indie sleaze ripped tights and oversized distressed bomber jacket, though, are nostalgia done right.)

<a href="https://go.skimresources.com/?id=133023X1595699&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.balenciaga.com%2Fen-us%2Fdiscover%2Fbalenciaga-under-armour" rel="noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Balenciaga x Under Armour;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Balenciaga x Under Armour</a><p>Photo: Courtesy of Balenciaga</p> — Balenciaga x Under Armour
Photo: Courtesy of Balenciaga

In what's emerging as a trend for the house, Balenciaga introduced a surprise collaboration on its Spring 2025 runway, with Under Armour. The capsule spans eight pieces (including hoodies, oversized T-shirts, shorts, sweatpants, embroidered baseball caps and socks) that look pretty much exactly how you expect them to: Per the brand, it marries "the technical expertise of American sportswear manufacturer Under Armour and the savoir-faire of Balenciaga, creating functional pieces in signature silhouettes." It's all available now in select stores and online at balenciaga.com with prices starting at $150 for socks and capping at $1,450 for a zip-up hoodie.

There are a handful of standouts that embody what has made Demna's Balenciaga successful: A series of flowy printed pleated midi shirt dresses, loosely draped around the torso to wrap around one arm and create an almost off-the-shoulder effect (my pick for Isabelle Huppert's personal order), and the reworked dropped-shoulder trenches tied low at the waist with the collars popped up, strike that balance between the brand's expertise in craft and the designer's understanding of how people want to dress today to create something that looks and feels like pure luxury.

See every single look from Balenciaga's Spring 2025 show in Shanghai below.