Gucci vandalises Balenciaga storefront logo in Paragon as it 'hacks' iconic designs globally

Fashion powerhouses Gucci and Balenciaga have released "The Hacker Project", a collection that "hacked" designs from iconic pieces from each brand. Meanwhile, MARKETING-INTERACTIVE also recently saw the partnership emerge in Singapore with a Gucci spray paint logo written over a clean Balenciaga storefront at Paragon.

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. Audiences from Gucci's runway show, "Aria" only found out about the said collaboration when models from the runway show were strutting with designs layered from iconic pieces emblazoned with the names of both brands. 

According to an article from Vogue, Gucci’s Aria show incorporated a touch of Balenciaga attitude—and what British Vogue’s fashion critic Anders Christian Madsen predicted could be the “most bullet-proof merchandise of the social media-driven fashion era”. In fact, it is not known for two fashion houses under the same label to have a said collaboration. 

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Gucci and Balenciaga for additional information regarding "The Hacker Project". 

A quick check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE found that the collection featured iconic pieces from both fashion houses. However, the difference was that there was an element of either brands in the design. For instance, Balenciaga's iconic Triple S sneakers received a "Guccified" treatment as it now had a dose of the Italian luxury brand’s heritage incorporated into the sneaker design. 

Whereas for Gucci, some pieces in its iconic GG monogram canvas received a tweak from Gvasalia and featured a graffiti-ed slogan design that said, "This is not a Gucci bag". 

Also on the topic of fashion collaborations, Tiffany and Co. has partnered with streetwear powerhouse Supreme to release a collection featuring six pieces of jewellery and one T-Shirt. Both brands initially teased the news of their partnership on Instagram. While Tiffany and Co. declined to comment on details of the collaboration, a company's spokesperson told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that the collection will be launching in eight specially selected Tiffany stores around and work, and 14 Supreme outlets. Scheduled to launch on 11 November, the collection will also be available in Asia Pacific.

Earlier this month, Gucci brought on board South Korean stars Shin Min-ah and Lee Jung-jae as its newest global brand ambassadors. Shin starred in Netflix's Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha while Lee is known for playing the protagonist in Squid Game. Both of them join the list of South Korean stars who have worked with Gucci, including EXO's Kai and singer-actress IU. In fact, luxury brands are increasingly beefing up their relevance amongst the younger generation as well as K-pop fans by appointing South Korean celebrities as their global brand ambassadors. Last month, Louis Vuitton named Squid Game actress Jung Ho-yeon as its global ambassador, months after bringing on board K-pop boyband BTS. 

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