LUXURY fashion house Balenciaga was born from Spanish roots priding itself on clothing the royal family and aristocracy.
Still to this day, the brand provides clothing to the rich and famous but more people are turning on to their offerings as an alternative to the high street market.
Balenciaga is a luxury fashion house founded in Spain before it was forced to relocate to France, opening a boutique store in Paris in 1937 as a result of the Spanish Civil War.
It produces ready-to-wear, footwear, handbags, and accessories.
The brand revolutionised women’s fashion in the 1950’s and by the 1960’s it had established trademark styles such as the collar deviating from the collar bone, and the “bracelet sleeves.”
Balenciaga was acquired by multinational French company Kering in 2001 who own Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci and Alexander McQueen.
With the company’s origin being the Basque Country, there is quite a specific way to pronounce the name.
The easiest way is to break the word down to explain how to say it as was intended.
Bu-len-see-ah-gur / Balenciaga
When you break it down in such a way, you really get the word as it would be said in the area it was first developed from idea to reality.
Balenciaga managed to crack one of the most difficult groups to win over in fashion, the notoriously hard-to-please Gen Z.
The fashion house draws as much criticism as it does fascination and its marketing strategy can only be described as “bold”.
It announced a collaboration with Fortnite, one of the world’s most popular video games, offering players the possibility to get virtual Balenciaga outfits and fashion accessories.
While presenting its spring-summer 2022 collection at Paris Fashion Week, the brand dropped a never-before-seen episode of “The Simpsons,” turning Marge, Homer, Bart, Lisa and the rest of the gang into ambassadors for its latest looks.
From Kim Kardashian, Rihanna to Kanye West (or Ye as he is now known) some celebrities seem to swear by Balenciaga.
The Spanish fashion brand is performing well in the trainer market where their basic pump will cost you in the region of £400 and you can pay upwards of £800 for some of their more expensive offerings.
Across the decades to the present day the list of celebrities who wear their brand is a who’s who of the rich and famous.
With prices that would make the eyes water of most people, they continue to position themselves as a brand of luxury with prices to match.
