Alexis SON - Essay GB - 20/03/2022
BALENCIAGA : A SUCCESSFUL STORY
It is the brand that is most talked about in the field of Luxury: For several years, the brand of Spanish origin has caused a sensation among fashion lovers: a fractured, different vision, led by the special Demna, artistic director of the brand since 2015.
Under his direction, the brand radically changed its style: we feel an experimental and daring side of things, where the brand's clothes are influenced by a techno, underground vibe, very much based on sportswear. A direction that is both different and similar to Cristobal Balenciaga's vision: breaking codes and standing out from the fashion market. Demna says to deconstruct then reconstruct Cristobal classics through her designs. He is a creator who dares, who surprises, and who also adapts to the new generation: a generation Z based on technology, digital.
Balenciaga understood very well that future customers would be this generation.Indeed, today, 60% of the brand's customers are from Generation Z.
The brand took the big risk of recruiting an artistic director with a vision totally contrary to the codes of Balenciaga, but it is through change that the brand will manage to get by.
The issues and the objectives were understood. Putting Demna in the position of artistic director, with a futuristic, technological and experimental vision of things, was a more than coherent idea in the revival project of the label, which had been quite discreet since the end of the 80s.
A renaissance hailed by the fashion world, seeing it as the most popular brand, and also one of the biggest notorieties in the industry.
Indeed, according to Gartner L2’s Digital IQ Index: Fashion Global, in 2019 the brand saw its growth curve increase by nearly 28%. A dazzling growth, due to the monstrous work of Demna, but also to the digital communication of the brand: indeed present on Twitter, Facebook, and particularly Instagram, the brand has a special communication: where everything that is posted on social networks is ephemeral. Balenciaga will communicate only for a big event. For the moment, the number of posts on their social networks is 0. However, this communication works extremely well: the engagement rates are much more impressive, where other luxury brands prefer to spam content on their social networks, Balenciaga does the opposite by drastically reducing its presence, which stirs up a feeling of rarity and prestige, resulting in a much higher activity and engagement rate.
Beyond that, the brand has decided to carry out very surprising collaborations: whether with The Simpsons for the Fall/Winter fashion show, with Fortnite, with Yeezy (Kanye West) and Gap, or even with the crocs: unique collaborations in the world of luxury and fashion, showing once again this rather experimental and futuristic aspect, of a quite different dimension compared to its competitors.
Balenciaga is a growing brand.
At the moment, I don't know what to say, the strength of Balenciaga's position is very effective and shows a different face of luxury. Continuing on this perspective and developing Demna's vision is a good way to perpetuate the concept, to dare to create something different, related to the new generation and the technology allows to hook this generation Z.
