by neonbluelights
Comment on “The House of Balenciaga” posted on September 26, 2019 by pernillehurlen
In the blog post published on September 26, pernillehurlen presents the fashion house Balenciaga. She comments on the brand’s design approach and what makes them unique.
The text begins with a good introduction of Balenciaga that gives the reader an understanding of the brand and what characterizes it.
“Balenciaga” by Thomas Hawk is licenced under CC BY-NC 2.0
There isn’t presented a specific issue within the text, but as I understand it, the author is questioning why Balenciaga is so popular and how the fashion house has gained the success that it has. She mentions how the brand stands out from others in the industry because of its “ironic and sometimes ugly aesthetic”. This is interesting, and I think this could be something to look more into. For example, a lot of people see design and art as something that should be aesthetically pleasing and beautiful to look at, so why is it that “ugly” sells? Does beautiful design really matter?
She also talks about media coverage and how simple designs with ridiculous high prices catch the media’s attention, as well as over the top clothing items. This leads me to question if this is a marketing strategy, which the author also mentions at the very end of the blog post: “Either way, if Demna is a marketing genius or he is just a big fan of ironic fashion, the revenue of Balenciaga has never been higher”. Which brings me to the topic of value in the design industry. On one side, you have the fashion designers. You may think they design these over the top clothes to get attention, which leads to people talking about it, which further can lead to more and more people adopting the style until it becomes fashion. This gives the brand a higher economic value. On the other side, you have the consumers who buy and wear the clothes. Why do they do that if the designs are “aesthetically ugly”? The clothes may give them a feeling of connection with others who wear the same brand of clothes and give them a sense of identity. This is the social value aspect of it. If you look at it like this, it makes sense that Balenciaga sells despite high prices and unusual looking clothing items. Because people will continue to buy the brand’s clothes because the brand is a part of their identity and it makes them feel good.
I think pernillehurlen has written an overall good text. It’s interesting and it really got me thinking. As previously said, I find it difficult to clearly see the key points and the issue, but I do think the topics the author is writing about connect to the syllabus. With that said, I think a defined question or issue would give the author more room for own reflections, which is what I would like to see more of.
References:
pernillehurlen. (2019). The House of Balenciaga [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://designindustries.art.blog/2019/09/26/the-house-of-balenciaga/
Making sense of art and design industries 