Paris - RTW SS13 - Balenciaga

City: Paris
Season: Ready-To-Wear, Spring/Summer 2013
Show: Balenciaga

Nicolas Ghesquière’s stewardship of the legendary Spanish house Balenciaga is going from strength to strength all the time. Where other designers zig, Balenciaga and Nicolas Ghesquière zag, whether its an ad campaign starring fresh-faced unknown models, as in Autumn/Winter 2012, or in choosing stars with substance - Charlotte Gainsbourg and Kristen Stewart included - to front their fragrance campaigns. Stewart was sat front row at Balenciaga’s Spring/Summer 2013, dressed head-to-toe in Nicolas Ghesquière’s colourful creations, along with the likes of Salma Hayek and Vanessa Traina. Fortunately the front row didn’t have to stand this time… As for the clothes themselves, the colour palette was really rather muted this time around, especially for a spring show, however Jamie Bochert’s claret tank provided a welcome pop of colour (centre). My favourite element of his collection was Ghesquière’s innovative use of bouclé. Normally the preserve of Upper East Side trophy wives, this season the bouclé skirt suit was given an unexpectedly urban spin - see Ondria Hardin (centre right) for the most conclusive evidence of this. My hands-down favourite look was that showcased by Balenciaga campaign star Linn Arvidsson (top centre), for nobody does a leather jacket quite like Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquière, as K-Stew would no doubt attest.

This piece was originally published on alisonlaurabell.tumblr.com in October 2012.