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- took a different route to Dior
- Designed the wedding dress for a royal wedding
- is now one of the fastest growing companies since 2018
- in 2015 Demna Gvasalia took over the brand and revived the label to where it is today - streetwear
- Cristobal Balenciaga - described as one of the best designers
- wanted to hide womens imperfections with stiff materials and hid their body shapes - why they use oversized clothes. this can be seen in their items today
- " The material should speak for itself"
- Models walked the catwalks with stern faces to fit the brand
- Closed his fashion house in 1968 and died in 1972, remained closed until 1986 when jacques Bogart acquired the rights and brought out a new line designed by Michel Goma in 1987.
- no machines today can even replicate his handcrafted designs.
- in 2012 Alexander Wang took over as creative director
- even 100 years on CB's emote is still appealing within fashion today.

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Adidas and nike visit - Presentation (16:9) by Lydia Young

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Both Nike and Adidas are world champions for sports shoes and have been carrying that title for a long time.

Nike has a revenue of over $24.2 Billion (includes converse)

Adidas has a revenue or $15 Billion (includes reeboks)

Adidas has a lot more ‘cool factor’ with many more street styles and collabs with celebrity influencers

Kanye West has sold Yeezy’s through both so knows first hand the competetiveness

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Trainers are big business, the global athletic shoe market was worth $58 billion in 2018 and is predicted to rise to $88 billion by 2024. With such a market size it's a lucrative market for sports brands and is keenly contested for market share. *

Despite a number of new entrants into space in recent years, APL to name but one, the market is still dominated by a small number of heavyweights. Nike and Adidas have been slugging it out to be the world champion in sport's shoes for a very long time and for anyone who has read Phil Knights fantastic book, Shoe Dog, you'll see the competition between the brands is a driver for both of their successes.

But who is currently winning this never-ending battle? Who is the top dog in the trainer market?
Revenues
Let's start by looking at revenues for the two brands. Nike is the larger business overall and the market leader in the global sports footwear industry with revenues from their footwear of over $ 24.2 billion in 2018, compared to Adidas footwear revenue of $15 billion. These figures include not only Nike and Adidas branded footwear but also Converse (owned by Nike) and Reebok (owned by Adidas).

In terms of revenue growth, Adidas footwear has added $5.8 billion since 2015 growing at an average rate of 17.6% whereas Nike footwear has only added $4.3 billion at an average rate of 6.8%.
Share Price
Clearly, a defining factor when considering who is winning in this market is the capitalization. Nike's market capitalization as of July 2019 stood at $140 billion - more than double that of Adidas's $65 billion - illustrating the scale of both businesses.

Adidas has been demonstrating a stronger share price performance in 2019 as Adidas shares are outperforming the market whereas Nikes' have been growing in line with industry performance.
Cool Factor
Again Adidas appears to be winning on this metric - having adopted a marketing approach which focuses more on streetwear sneakers through 'cooler' collaborations with music and celebrity influencers such as Kanye West and Beyonce as compared to Nike's more sports-focused approach. Clearly, with the athleisure trend moving sportswear from the gym to the office Adidas is betting that they can take even more of the market with this approach.

One man who knows about the Adidas/Nike rivalry more than most and has made a fortune collaborating with both is rapper Kanye West, named recently in Forbes' 2019 list of the 100 highest-paid celebrities, in third place.

Kanye's celebrity status is undisputed - one of the most popular (and successful) rappers of his generation, he is also one-half of one of the most recognizable couples in the world through his marriage to Kim Kardashian. Only three years ago Kanye tweeted that he was $53 million in debt yet now the singer is reportedly enjoying an annual pre-tax income of at least $150 million. This turn around in his fortune is largely through his building of a $1 billion fashion empire through his sneaker brand Yeezy.

Originally partnering with Nike to sell his Yeezy trainers-releasing three styles over a five-year partnership, Kanye made a shock announcement in 2014 that he was doing the unimaginable and moving to Nikes' rivals Adidas

The first Adidas Yeezys were launched in February 2015 and the partnership has gone on to become one of the most successful partnerships of all time.

Yeezy sales are predicted to top $1.5 billion by the end of this year and their growth in popularity shows no sign of slowing.

Whereas Nikes' main collaboration is with a very different genre of celebrity; veteran basketball player Michael Jordan whose Air Jordan line of trainers for Nike currently holds the top spot for celebrity sneaker brands, generating approx $3 billion in sales each year. The first Air Jordans were launched in 1985 therefore whilst they remain popular they are now an established sneaker name and can no longer be described as having the cool factor.

Nike clearly recognizes this and in 2018 moved to tackle this conception through their sponsorship of Paris Saint Germain Football Club. This saw the football club be the first to wear Jordan merchandise and focused the advertising around their global superstars Neymar and Kylian Mbappe!

For Nike and Adidas the battle for footwear supremacy is continually ongoing and one that is the foundation of success for both businesses, especially with both pushing to grow their direct to consumer relationships. Nike might be the bigger company but through sponsorship and an improving 'cool' factor, Adidas is clearly closing the gap.

... Read More

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Adidas or Nike? Which Retail Giant is Winning The Sneakers War?

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Trainers are big business, the global athletic shoe market was worth $58 billion in 2018 and is predicted to rise to $88 billion by 2024. With such a market size it's a lucrative market for sports brands and is keenly contested for market share.

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Cristobal Balenciaga started an apprenticeship at age 12 at a tailors also at age 12 he also opened his first shop and later on because of the civil war he had to move to Paris in 1937.​

He never forgot his heritage and elements of Spain – his home country​

1950's & 60's were the years he elevated as a master of art costume for women. He wanted to free the body in a different way. He ignored the waist for example the sack dress, egg clothes and cocoon coat. These all created a new unique aesthetic for women​

Cristobal Balenciaga Vs Demna Gvasalia – one loved haute couture and the other street style. Couldn't be more different but similar in the sense that they aren't afraid to challenge the typical rules of fashion

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"The Fashion Titan," "the only real couturier," "The Sculptor-Tailor," "our teacher," "the architect of haute couture," These are just some of the names that many important figures of the fashion world such as Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Hubert de Givenchy, Oscar de La Renta, André Courrèges, Emanuel Ungaro, etc., used to define one of the greatest talents of the haute couture: Cristóbal Balenciaga. Not only did he revolutionize the history of fashion by shaking up the concepts of femininity and feminine silhouette, but he also pushed fashion beyond its edges creating works of art that can't be classified.

We summarized in 6 points the story of this couturier who made absolute elegance and volumes his own trademarks.

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The History of Balenciaga #1 The Beginnings
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Basque but Parisian of adoption, Cristóbal Balenciaga was born in 1895 in a small village in Getaria. His mother was a dressmaker while his father a fisherman. He got the passion for fabrics from his mother, cultivating the dream of becoming a couturier. At only 11 years old, he was already working as an apprentice with a tailor in his Country improving year by year his designing and tailoring skills. At the age of 12, he opened his first shop in San Sebastián. After that, he landed in Madrid and Barcelona. Because of the Civil War, he had to move to Paris where, in 1937, he opened his atelier in Avenue George V, on the third floor of Palazzo Borghese.

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The History of Balenciaga #2 The 1940s: Paris and the Haute Couture
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Balenciaga made Paris become "the theatre" of his talent and timeless style. Even if he was an avant-garde and a visionary, he never forgot his origins: characteristic elements of his country such as lace, the Bolero lace and the contrast between red and black always remained in his collections. His first line was inspired by the Spanish Renaissance, while the following one took inspiration from the Princess of Spain's clothes, portrayed by the artist Diego Velasquez, and from the boleros worn by Spanish bullfighters. His maniac attention to detail and his refined taste soon conquered the European aristocracy, bringing into the Maison some of the most beautiful and powerful women of that time.

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The History of Balenciaga #3 50s-60s: The Golden Age and the Clash with Christian Dior
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These two decades represented for Christóbal the years of revelation that would elevate him as one of the most illustrious masters of Art Costume. In this period, when femininity was manifested through tapering shapes of the corseted clothes and the "wheeled" skirts of Christian Dior's New Look, Balenciaga instead unleashed his genius by going towards a different direction: his mission was to free the body through volumes, symmetries, and chromatic contrasts.

This could be possible by ignoring the waist while choosing instead anti-conventional models like the semi-adherent sheath, the sack dress, the cocoon coat, the pleated baby doll, the balloon mini-dress, the blouse without the collar, the tunic dresses, the egg clothes and the flat necklines, which created a unique aesthetic. With this philosophy in mind, he also invented two fabrics: the Gazar, a very malleable silk raffia, suitable for the creation of volumes and the Cracknyl, a plastic coated, sparkling and waterproof fabric.

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The History of Balenciaga #4 The Rejection of Prêt-à-porter
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The revolutionary '60s brought deep changes in the social, political and cultural fields. The hippie movement, the rock'n'roll, the first sounds of pop music, the numerous social insurrections and the increase of working women changed the needs, the habits and customs of the society. As a consequence, in those years a new branch was born in fashion design, the prêt-à-porter: a concept opposed to the haute couture that follows the needs and the rhythms of the new world. Tailored "works of art" were starting to be replaced by ready to wear clothes in standardized sizes that were sold in big stores. The direct and personal relationship with the client inside the ateliers was being replaced by an independent and impersonal "purchasing" mood.

The search for an unconventional style, unique but easy to wear, the rediscovery of the feminine body through the use of mini dresses and miniskirts, the energy of pop colors, the optical and geometrical prints represented the birth of a new aesthetic. However, this was not in line with Balenciaga's ideals. Indeed, whenever someone asked him what were his thoughts on this new trend, he always answered: "I will never prostitute my talent." So, in 1968, at the top of his success, he preferred to retire from the scenes and to be remembered as the most stylish and elegant tailor.

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The History of Balenciaga #5 Cristóbal Balenciaga and Demna Gvasalia: Two Generations Compared
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The first one was a pioneer of haute couture, the second one a street-style lover. These two geniuses of fashion design could not be more apart from each other. However, they have something in common. "I believe they are united by a similar attitude towards the fashion system and the press and they are not afraid to challenge the rules. They also share a similar approach to the body. Demna Gvasalia, (Balenciaga's creative director from 2015), treats it in a way, with such a self-confidence in cutting and creating that can also be found in Balenciaga's work," says Cassie Davies-Strodde r, Fashion and Textile Department curator of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

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The History of Balenciaga #6
46 years after Balenciaga's death, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London inaugurated an exhibition to honor the most respected "sculptor" of the 20th century. The exhibition celebrated the great work of the "Picasso of Fashion" focusing on the period between the '50s and the '60s. "These two decades represent a turning point in Balenciaga's career, who in those years began to distance significantly from the aesthetics of his contemporaries," said Cassie Davies-Strodder, curator of the exhibition.

Emblematic, in fact, was the garment that opened the exhibition: a dress with a gazar cloak in chartreuse (green) dating back to 1961, whose silhouette reminds the one of an elegant caterpillar and that could easily be mistaken for a futuristic creation of Comme des Garçons. "The dress is a wonderful distilled of his ideas and shows his abstraction of the body; it's absolutely modern. Silhouettes like this one made people cry out to the scandal at that time, as they completely eliminated the waistline," continued Davies-Strodder. Not to mention the museum dedicated to him that was inaugurated in Getaria, Spain, on June 10 th, 2011 by Queen Sofia. It could be interpreted as a sort of farewell from his most affectionate clients, a regal recognition for the emperor of luxury.

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The Italian Rêve - The History of Balenciaga in 6 Points - Fashion Tips & Co.

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"The Fashion Titan," "the only real couturier," "The Sculptor-Tailor," "our teacher," "the architect of haute couture," These are just some of the names that many important figures of the fashion world such as Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Hubert de Givenchy, Oscar de La Renta, André Courrèges, Emanuel Ungaro, etc., used to define one of the greatest talents of the haute couture: Cristóbal Balenciaga.

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Balenciaga constantly referred back to Spanish culture and reinterpreting them into new modern creations​

His first collection was in 1937 and included a black "so black that it hits you like a blow. Thick Spanish black, almost velvety, a night without stars." Says Harper's Bazaar.

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"He was the master of us all," said Christian Dior about the legendary Spanish designer Cristóbal Balenciaga. According to fashion editor Diana Vreeland, he "brought the style of Spain into the lives of everyone who wore his designs." Balenciaga constantly referenced Spanish culture and art history, reviving historical techniques and styles - and reinterpreting them into such masterfully modern creations that his contemporaries bowed down in awe.
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The aesthetic of the Habsburg court can be seen in the velvety blacks and rich embroideries of Balenciaga's eveningwear. His chromatic boldness comes from the palette of El Greco, certain silhouettes from the canvases of Velázquez. The pure shapes and forms that earned him the nickname 'the architect of haute couture,' have their origins in the vestments of Zurbarán's saints and friars. Earthier influences from flamenco and bullfighting are transformed into elegant cocktail gowns and boleros.

Balenciaga's appreciation for art and fashion had been shaped at an early age in the home of the Marchioness of Casa Torres, where his mother, Martina, worked as a seamstress. The Marchioness was a supremely elegant woman who dressed in the very best couture from Charles Frederick Worth, Jeanne Paquin and Jacques Doucet. The family also owned one of the best collections of Spanish art in the country, which included masterpieces by Velázquez, Pantoja de la Cruz, El Greco and Goya.

"When we walk through 400 years of Spanish art we realise that the painters were really passionate about fashion and paid enormous attention to it. That's something Balenciaga realised quite early," says Eloy Martínez de la Pera, curator of Balenciaga and Spanish Painting at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid.

Thanks to the patronage of the Marchioness, for whom he designed his first gown at the precocious age of 12, Balenciaga was soon able to turn his passion for fashion into a successful career as a couturier in Spain. His illustrious clientele included royalty and aristocracy. However, any references to the art he also loved were conspicuous by their absence in the early stages of his career.

It took the tragedy of the Spanish Civil War, which broke out in 1936, and Balenciaga's subsequent relocation to Paris, to instil in him the desire to evoke the artistic heritage of his country in his designs.

"All the Spanish influence on his couture is from the moment he arrived in Paris. It is in Paris that he misses Spain," says Martínez de la Pera.

His first collection in 1937 included a black "so black that it hits you like a blow. Thick Spanish black, almost velvety, a night without stars, which makes the ordinary black seem almost grey," wrote Harper's Bazaar in awe.

"Black is in a way the archetypal colour of Spain because of the court of Phillip II," explains Martínez de la Pera. The 16th-Century monarch, who ruled over much of Europe, popularised the colour throughout his domain, helped in no small part by the portraits of contemporary style icons such as Juana of Austria and Isabelle de Valois. "They were the first influencers in the history of fashion. Whatever Juana of Austria wore everybody in the other courts wanted to copy,' explains Martínez de la Pera.

Balenciaga took the colour and made it resolutely his own. Designs such as a 1943 evening gown in black satin offset by ivory panels subtly referenced those worn by Juana or Isabelle, and proved every bit as desirable. Austerely elegant and resolutely Spanish, they once again made the troubled country the height of fashion.
Art of fashion
More ostentatious court fashions also offered inspiration. Two years after his debut he created a series of gowns directly inspired by Velázquez's 1650s portraits of the Infanta Margarita Teresa of Austria and her ladies in waiting. The skirts proved so wide and heavy that a modern version of a farthingale was required to support them.

Balenciaga made use of Paris's world-class artisans to transform the lavish embroideries seen in portraits by Alonso Sánchez Coello and Juan Pantoja de la Cruz into stunningly contemporary creations in sequins, beading and brocade. Elegant floral bouquets from the still-life painting that was popular at court would also reappear as elaborate flower appliqu é s on evening coats or embroidered on gowns in silk thread and sequins.

Although Goya's unique take on court and aristocratic painting at the end of the following century was often less than flattering to his subjects, the artist's evident delight in the depiction of lace and muslin clearly had an impact on Balenciaga's more delicate creations. He "used the most beautiful lace from Calais and Chantilly in order to create these dresses that make you feel dressed up but also dressed down - it was pure seduction," enthuses Martínez de la Pera.

The religious painting of El Greco and Francisco de Zurbarán would have an equally great impact on Balenciaga's aesthetic.

He used the cobalt blues, lime yellows and dusty pinks in which El Greco dressed his saints to create stunningly elegant evening wear for a wealthy, earthly elite. The designs caused a stir among Paris's fashion cognoscenti, who were unused to such divine colours.

"Harold Koda, the curator of the Met, said that when Balenciaga arrived in Paris at the end of the '30s he brought such a beautiful palette of colours that the Parisian girls had to completely change their uniform," says Martínez de le Pera.

In Zurbarán, Balenciaga saw an artist whose attention to detail was as great as his own. The painter sourced the best fabrics and silks from Venice in order to select the perfect combination of colours, patterns and fabric in which to dress his saints. Zurbarán was so renowned for the mastery in which he replicated the different cloths and weights of fabrics that Chanel considered him one of the first fashion designers.

Balenciaga was particularly drawn to the simple cut and drape of the monks' habits, which inspired his revolutionary architectural styles. "The most iconic wedding dresses of Balenciaga are mixed up with these paintings," says Martínez de la Pera. These include the gown he designed for the Marchioness of Casa Torres's own granddaughter, Fabiola, when she married King Baudouin of the Belgians in 1960. The elegant robe in heavy silk, trimmed with white mink, would become one of the most celebrated of his career.

The earthy delights of the flamenco and bullfight whose aesthetic appears in the paintings of 20th-Century artists such as Ramón Casas I Carbó and Balenciaga's close friend Ignacio Zuloaga would for some became clichés of Spanish identity. In Balenciaga's hands however they become supremely sophisticated evening attire. A velvet bolero jacket is lavishly embellished with passementerie (elaborate trimmings) and jet beads, while the ripples of a flamenco-inspired gown cascade seductively around the skirt.

Although Balenciaga closed his house in 1968, preferring to bow out while still at the height of his powers, he was persuaded to come out of retirement four years later to dress General Franco's granddaughter for her wedding to Prince Alfonso of Bourbon.

In its elegant simplicity the gown he created once again evoked the linear purity of Zurbarán's friars. The greatest painter of fabric and cloth in the history of Spanish painting joined with the greatest couturier Spain will ever see. A fitting finale for a master.
Balenciaga and Spanish Painting is at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid until 7 September If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Culture, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter. And if you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter, called "If You Only Read 6 Things This Week". A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Culture, Capital and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday.

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"He was the master of us all," said Christian Dior about the legendary Spanish designer Cristóbal Balenciaga. According to fashion editor Diana Vreeland, he "brought the style of Spain into the lives of everyone who wore his designs."

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Timeline of Balenciaga - Presentation (16:9) by Lydia Young

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- Trying to prevent LGBTQ youth suicide. The fashion industry can be more useful than it seems by highlighting important issues like this one
- Each Balenciaga product sold, 15 percent of sales price is donated to The Trevor Project.

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BALENCIAGA SUPPORTS THE TREVOR PROJECT

Balenciaga is partnering with The Trevor Project in its mission to prevent LGBTQ youth suicide. Fashion can be useful beyond its practical purposes by highlighting important issues like this one.

PROTECTING YOUNG LBGTQ LIVES

For more than 22 years, The Trevor Project has worked to save young LGBTQ lives through 24/7, confidential crisis counseling via phone, text and online chat in the United States. In addition to on-the-ground advocacy, mental health research, and public awareness and education to help youth and adults support the LGBTQ young people in their lives, the organization has invested in international community-building with its TrevorSpace program.

In recent years, many countries have experienced a decline in LGBTQ acceptance. Funds raised through the sale of this Balenciaga product will help address the immediate need for life-affirming peer support for LGBTQ youths. The Trevor Project and TrevorSpace offer safe and scalable solutions that can save lives.

Learn more at TheTrevorProject.org and TrevorSpace.org

For each of this Balenciaga product sold, 15 percent of sales price will be donated to The Trevor Project.

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Balenciaga is partnering with The Trevor Project in its mission to prevent LGBTQ youth suicide. Fashion can be useful beyond its practical purposes by highlighting important issues like this one. For more than 22 years, The Trevor Project has worked to save young LGBTQ lives through 24/7, confidential crisis counseling via phone, text and online chat in the United States.

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- Balenciaga is fur-and exotic leather-free.
- have committed to reducing its footprint within their designs and production process as well as its offices, events, stores, and packaging, for example by introducing more recycled materials

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OUR APPROACH

Aware and convinced of the challenges linked to sustainability, Balenciaga has acted to reduce the environmental impact of its creativity and activity while pursuing progress within fundamentally important social issues.

We are committed to the sustainable and ethical management of our operations. The goal of reducing our environmental impact influences our decisions. At all levels and in all locales-whether at offices and stores or along the supply chain-we respect high standards for social and ecological responsibility. Balenciaga is also fur-and exotic leather-free.

WHAT WE DO

For several years, Balenciaga has committed to reducing its footprint within the design and production processes of its collections, as well as its offices, events, stores, and packaging, for example by introducing more responsible, recycled, and upcycled materials in lieu of others.

The remaining carbon emissions generated by all our activities along the supply chain in scopes 1, 2, and 3 of the GHG Protocol are carefully calculated, and we commit to invest funds into carbon removal projects that protect and restore natural ecosystems.

We have chosen to partner with Reforestum to raise awareness about the carbon footprint associated with every e-commerce purchase, by sponsoring three dedicated agroforestry projects in South America, Asia, and Europe.

Additionally, we have launched a re-sell program in partnership with Reflaunt designed to encourage the practices of recycling, reducing, and reusing whenever possible-as in giving worn clothing and accessories new lives.

By implementing innovative techniques and textiles without compromising creativity, the House also educates its audience on the possibilities of sustainable practices in luxury.

OUR COMMITMENT

For over one hundred years, Balenciaga has been recognized as a major, unique, and legitimate House in fashion and luxury by offering uncompromising creativity. It is with the same high standards that the House consistently reinvents itself in order to answer the environmental and societal challenges with which we are constantly presented.

Innovation is ultimately experimentation, which is essential to Balenciaga's creative process as well as how we run our business. Experimentation also creates new unforeseen obstacles that challenge our methods and drives continual evolution. Our goal is to innovate without harming humans or our environment while respecting the welfare ofanimals. It is through our research and development of materials and manufacturing processes that we are proposing a renewed and responsible fashion system.

Balenciaga is committed to meeting a target of 100% metal-free tanned leather in our collections and to reach 100% alignment with our parent company Kering's Standards for Raw Materials and Manufacturing Processes by 2025. This ambitious commitment will take several steps. We will regularly update the information on this website for the sake of transparency.

For information related to sustainability, please write to sustainability@balenciaga.com.

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- launched their new clothing collection in a video game called 'Afterworld: the Age of Tomorrow'. The game itself is set in 2031 and follows a hero avatar.
- demonstrates an example of exactly how innovative digital marketing methods need to be. It provides insight into how they can be used to not only sell clothes through video games but also create an immersive experience for their users, offering a unique way of viewing apparel for their audience making it much more appealing

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As with many industries this year, the fashion industry has suffered tremendously at the hands of the covid 19 pandemic. Fashion weeks and shows have been consolidated to days and hours spent online watching models taking the catwalk while social distancing or events being cancelled altogether - sheer heartbreak for the fashionistas who live and breathe in the fashion world.

A survey conducted by McKinsey highlights an already bleak picture many fashion executives had regarding the industry for the year 2020. Pandemic or not, it wasn't looking good. The graph below clearly indicates that in both areas, by segment and by geography, they felt the industry would become worse by a considerable amount in comparison to remaining the same or improving.
(Source: BOF-McKinsey State of Fashion 2020 Survey) Brand launches
Technology has played one of the most prominent and pivotal roles this year. Not only connecting colleagues as it would do but also replacing family visits and holidays with video calling services. Without technology, the pandemic would have been impossible to survive, with many unable to work from home, which indicates its heavy importance not only now but moving forward.

Although many vaccines for the Covid-19 virus look promising, there was a time they didn't exist, and this is where the pivotal shift took place for many industries. The fashion industry, in particular, has been forced to launch new brands and lines online in virtual events and shows which proves this could be the way forward for the industry as a whole.

Brands have had to think of new innovative ways to reach their audience, pushing them to think outside of the box and giving birth to new concepts. They have been pushed to find new ways of exciting their customers.

As time came to a standstill in lockdown, companies naturally turned to online means as consumers seem to be engaging with much longer pieces of content now. With this in mind, it could be argued that interactive content such as video game collaborations could be the next best and most logical step forward.

Luxury fashion brand and company Balenciaga have done just this and will be launching their new clothing collection in a video game. The collection is expected to drop on December 6th in a video game called 'Afterworld: the Age of Tomorrow'. The game itself is set in 2031 and follows a hero avatar.

Balenciaga has been experimenting with online formats to launch their clothing. However, the collaboration between video games and fashion houses is not new and has been explored in the past by Louis Vuitton, who designed new in-game and real items themed products around the 'League of Legends' video game.

Moving forward in this way and the gamification concerning Balenciaga's new collection demonstrates an example of exactly how innovative digital marketing methods need to be. It provides insight into how they can be used to not only sell clothes through video games but also create an immersive experience for their users, offering a unique way of viewing apparel for their audience.

Virtual fitting rooms

As the pandemic continues to press on and the inevitable number of lockdowns begins to increase, closing brick and mortar shops, we have seen an increase of new technology that we can use with our existing devices like smartphones and tablets. As Pablets, like the Samsung Fold, which according to Smartphone Checker, has a 7.3 inch touch screen become increasingly popular, they will help make online shopping easier and more accessible.

The pandemic has transformed shopping for clothes totally. Even as shops slowly began to open in the summer, changing rooms were closed due to the fear of the virus spreading. This birthed a new app which allows users to see what clothing would look like on them before purchasing the item, saving money on deliveries and returns.

The app called R Reflections has been launched by Rebecca Mabbett and allows users to combine pictures of clothes from their favourite online stores with a picture of themselves. Users of the app can either upload full-body pictures or just their face into the smartphone application.

The app then allows users to pick a skin tone which most resembles their own skin colour and set up a profile. Once created, the user can take pictures of clothing found online and place them on their virtual body or face. The clothing cleverly adapts to match the user's body shape and skin tone.

There are, of course, many other different ways that fashion houses can interact with technology to help save the fashion industry. The potential and future prospect are what makes the industry so intriguing and one to surely watch out for.

It won't be long until the adaptive use of technology is also integrated into apparel. A concept we have already seen take steady heed with smart clothing. With all this in mind, although 2020 may have looked grey for the fashion industry as a whole, the pandemic may have just sparked a new fire, catapulting fashion into the future.

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How has technology saved Balenciaga and the fashion industry from crippling under the pressure of the pandemic

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As with many industries this year, the fashion industry has suffered tremendously at the hands of the covid 19 pandemic. Fashion weeks and shows have been consolidated to days and hours spent online watching models taking the catwalk while social distancing or events being cancelled altogether - sheer heartbreak for the fashionistas who live and breathe in the fashion world.

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- The journey starts out in a Balenciaga retail store, before players exit onto a city street and hop onto a bus, which takes flight and warps into thin air.
- anyone can now access the video game on Balenciaga's website, a select group of people were initially invited to play the game via VR headsets instead of attending an in-person runway show - was within this game that they launched their Fall 21 line
- Balenciaga's creative director, Demna Gvasalia, aimed to create pieces that he thought represented the future of clothing, where "nature and youth co-exist" to offer garments that can be repurposed and last forever.
"People will keep wearing clothes they love until they fall apart. I do myself. So things look quite destroyed, worn-in, pre-crinkled," said Gvasalia.
- "The game and the collection imagine a near future in which clothing is meant to transform over many years," added Balenciaga. "Treatments tease out the aging process of materials, emphasizing the idea of wearing something for decades or repurposing it forever."

"In the future, a garment that appears to serve one function may serve another, seeing as certain materials will be reinterpreted for new uses," it continued. "A satin trench is not a coat but a party dress."

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Balenciaga has released its Fall 2021 fashion collection in the form of a video game, which sees players travel through a wonderland-style future world, passing avatars dressed in ripped jeans and metal-armour boots on the way.

The Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow video game is structured in five different levels, or "zones", which the player simply has to walk through, following a predetermined path of glowing arrows.

The journey starts out in a Balenciaga retail store, before players exit onto a city street and hop onto a bus, which takes flight and warps into thin air.

Participants are then transported to another outdoor environment where they are directed through a series of abandoned concrete structures, and towards a dark forest opening. A white rabbit leads players through the forest to a "secret rave".

Upon leaving the forest, players traverse upward steps through winding caves to the top of a rocky cliff, where an avatar dressed in knight's armour pulls a sword from a stone.

This action seems to explode the rockface to reveal an opening to a red-rock mountain, which the player is directed to walk over until they reach a sunset, where the game closes.

A blank screen with a pulsating circle in the centre appears where credits would usually be shown, with the words "breathe" and "hold" printed across the circle to encourage the player to participate in a meditation-style breathing exercise.

While anyone can now access the video game via Balenciaga's website, a select group of people were initially invited to play the game via Virtual Reality (VR) headsets instead of attending an in-person runway show.

It was within this game that the brand presented its Fall 2021 line, also called Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow, which is a continuation of its Summer 2021 pre-collection shown in October 2020.

Avatars are dotted throughout each virtual space dressed in garments from Balenciaga's latest collection. This includes oversized, tailored suits made from t-shirt jersey materials that have been made to look worn and creased.

The brand also reimagined 400-year-old steel knight's armour in the form of thigh-high boots and stilettos made from a lacquered material, designed to represent fashion as "a type of armour worn to protect against the elements of judgment".

Other looks see ripped jeans with coloured patches visible underneath paired with faux fur and puffer jackets.

Formafantasma and Shahar Livne Design named design studios of the year at Dezeen Awards 2020

Dezeen Awards winner Shahar Livne designed the jewellery for Balenciaga's Afterworld collection. The Israeli designer won the title of emerging designer of the year at Dezeen Awards 2020.

Examples of her work include a pair of sneakers with alternative leather inserts made from the wasted fat, bones and blood of animals.

Balenciaga's creative director, Demna Gvasalia, aimed to create pieces that he thought represented the future of clothing, where "nature and youth co-exist" to offer garments that can be repurposed and last forever.

"People will keep wearing clothes they love until they fall apart. I do myself. So things look quite destroyed, worn-in, pre-crinkled," said Gvasalia.

"The game and the collection imagine a near future in which clothing is meant to transform over many years," added Balenciaga. "Treatments tease out the aging process of materials, emphasizing the idea of wearing something for decades or repurposing it forever."

"In the future, a garment that appears to serve one function may serve another, seeing as certain materials will be reinterpreted for new uses," it continued. "A satin trench is not a coat but a party dress."

Explore New York with Virgil Abloh and Louis Vuitton's retro video game Endless Runner

"Jeans layered over pants and sweats showing a boxer short waistband are actually each a single item," the brand added. "As animal fur is no longer appropriate for people to buy new, a puffer is embroidered with recycled fabric that was laser cut to mimic the movement of a fur jacket."

The list goes on, and includes blankets that become coats, parkas with enlarged pockets that function as bags and military coveralls that have been reconstructed to form evening gowns.

Balenciaga is not the first fashion house to create a video game for its designs. Last year Louis Vuitton released a 1980s-style video game called Endless Runner, which was inspired by Virgil Abloh's Autumn Winter 2019 show for the brand.

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Balenciaga's Afterworld video game takes players to a secret rave in the forest

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Balenciaga has released its Fall 2021 fashion collection in the form of a video game, which sees players travel through a wonderland-style future world, passing avatars dressed in ripped jeans and metal-armour boots on the way.

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- Paris Fashion week themed episode

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Kim Kardashian, Kanye West and Justin Bieber get The Simpsons treatment in animated Balenciaga special for Paris Fashion Week

Kim Kardashian, Kanye West and Justin Bieber were among the celebrities parodied in a new special from The Simpsons inspired by Balenciaga.

The iconic primetime cartoon brought the fashion icons to life for a 10-minute episode released Saturday to coincide with the ongoing Paris Fashion Week.

Kim, 40, got such a kick out of being immortalized in Simpsons animation style that she shared a still from the episode to her Instagram Stories on Saturday.

She shared a frame in which a several celebrities were seen sitting next to the runway at a Balenciaga fashion show.

One character was dressed in a striking red head-to-toe look that appeared identical to Kim's buzzy Met Gala ensemble, aside from the color.

At the high-profile fashion event from last month, Kim arrived in a black gimp-style suit with a bondage-inspired mask that completely covered her face.

She paired the eerie all-black ensemble with pointy boots and two long trains trailing behind her.

The outfit was designed by Balenciaga, which has created many recent looks worn by her and her estranged husband Kanye West in the lead-up to the release of his album Donda.

The Simpson's character appeared to be a perfect match for her, though the animators added in an extra humorous touch by having the character's long ponytail also encased in the outfit.

Although it's less explicitly coded as Kanye, Kim's character sits next to someone in a thick black motorcycle helmet and a matching biker's suit.

The look was reminiscent of a burly spiked jacket he wore during one of his Donda listening parties while covering his head completely with a black mask.

Later in the Simpson's episode, Homer walks the runway in a red Balenciaga puffer coat.

The thick jackets were once a staple of Kanye's style, though they're now a less common item for him.

However, he stood out at one of his Donda listening events in a thick red coat mirroring Homer's, as well as matching pants.

The Simpsons also managed to nail Justin Bieber's usual casual style.

His animated avatar wore a baggy denim jacket with a T-shirt, sweatpants and trainers, all standard parts of Bieber's look.

The pop star usually opts for streetwear and tends to promote his own clothing label Drew, which is finely attuned to his tastes.

Fittingly, he starred in a Balenciaga campaign this year.

A version of Anna Wintour in the cartoon replicated her penchant for colorful floral dresses while sitting by the catwalk.

The animated version of the Vogue editor-in-chief also had her recognizable chunky sunglasses and her classic bobbed hair.

In the video, Anna's doppelgänger is one over by outfits worn by Simpsons characters as they walk the runway, leaving her sycophants to fight over who can agree with her the most vociferously.

The episode included some French-inspired humor, as Homer get addicted to escargot and seemingly every French fashion insider smokes.

Although Kim, Kanye and Justin were all logical choices for a Balenciaga-themed episode due to their connections to the fashion house, none of them appear to have been present at Paris Fashion Week.

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Kim Kardashian, Kanye West and Justin Bieber appear in Simpsons clip

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Kim Kardashian, Kanye West and Justin Bieber were among the celebrities parodied in a new special from The Simpsons inspired by Balenciaga. The iconic primetime cartoon brought the fashion icons to life for a 10-minute episode released Saturday to coincide with the ongoing Paris Fashion Week.

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Full video of the Fortnite X Balenciaga down Piccadilly Circus London today. So creative.

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647 votes, 38 comments. 1.6m members in the FortNiteBR community. The developer supported, community run subreddit dedicated to the Fortnite: Battle ...

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Reflective Blog - Presentation (16:9) by Lydia Young

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Buying - career development - A4 by Lydia Young

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Buying - career development - A4 by Lydia Young