Balenciaga sends smashed iPhones to invitees of fashion show

French luxury brand Balenciaga is once again making headlines for its creative Autumn/Winter 2022 fashion show held on 6 March 2022. This time invitees received a cracking iPhone with the Balenciaga branding engraved on the back with personalised information. The brand added that the phone is non-functional and is for display purposes only. “This document certifies that this device is, to the best of our knowledge, not artificially manufactured but made from years of use and later, neglect,” it said.

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The unconventional PR and marketing tactic matches the brand’s aim to have a digital livestream to bring the experience to viewers around the world. Moreover, with the Apple Event just days away, the invites were also very much a timely affair. Last year, Balenciaga also decided to put a twist to its next fashion collection debut by pushing out a game titled "Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow". The game is set in 2031 and features the main collection for Fall 2021.

During Fashion Week 2022, guests of the show were also greeted with T-shirts donning the colours of Ukraine. Accompanying the T-shirts was a letter from Balenciaga creative director Demna Gvasalia who is of Georgian descent.

In the letter Gvasalia said, "The war in Ukraine has triggered the pain of a past trauma I have carried in me since 1993, when the same thing happened in my home country and I became a forever refugee […] I thought for a moment about cancelling the show that I and my team worked so hard on and were all looking forward to. But then I realised that cancelling this show would mean giving in, surrendering to the evil that has already hurt me so much for almost 30 years.”

Closer to home Balenciaga recently caught the attention of Singapore residents as a Gucci spray paint logo written over a clean Balenciaga storefront at Paragon as part of their collaboration. It all started when Gucci's creative director, Alessandro Michele "swiped" designs from fellow creative director of Balenciaga Demna Gvasalia, for the recent Gucci collection.

A quick check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE found that the collection featured iconic pieces from both fashion houses.

Photo courtesy: @CalmelsPatrick, @AbuzerZeshan, and @TroubledDandy.

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