Presentation of Balenciaga's Paris Fashion Week Collection Dedicated To The War In Ukraine
Balenciaga's Georgian-born creative director Demna Gvasalia dedicated the Paris Fashion Week presentation of the famous fashion house's autumn-winter collection to the tragedy in Ukraine.
In the show, the models walked down a snowy runway in conditions simulating a snowstorm, according to Reuters.
Guests were greeted with Ukrainian flag T-shirts and a note explaining that the war had triggered the designer's pain of trauma he had carried since 1993 when the same thing happened in his homeland and he "became a refugee forever," as he recounted.
"We, as a brand, have to do something ... we cannot take weapons and go fight there, but we can use our voices," Demna Gvasalia told Reuters in an interview after the Paris Fashion Week show.
Balenciaga's Creative Director Never Forgat The War
Considered one of the most influential designers in the world of fashion, Demna Gvasalia has played a central role in the rise of streetwear styles and is known for his daring catwalk shows.
The designer said he spent two years in Ukraine after the war in Georgia, where he still has family, before settling in Germany.
"When you go through war, you never forget that," said the fashion designer, whose mother tongue is Russian.
Balenciaga Stood Up Against Vladimir Putin's War
First of all, Balenciaga's Instagram account - which has 12.8 million followers - had all images deleted from its feed, leaving only the image of the Ukrainian flag along with the explanation that the platform would only be used to broadcast information about the situation in Ukraine.
On Friday, Kering - the group that owns Balenciaga - announced the suspension of its operations in Russia, temporarily closing the two stores it owns in the country.
Many important fashion brands - such as Hermes or Georgio Armani - also stood up against the war started by the Russian president Vladimir Putin against Ukraine.
