The audience actually attended the show. They in fact have been precociously styled by Balenciaga making them wear archive looks from the very first season to the collection right before this one. They were asked to act the way they do, including filming the show with phones that were given to them by the house so they couldn’t leak any footage.

What you said about Balenciaga existing digitally is so true to many people. I have zero access to high-end stores and to get something from Balenciaga for example I'd have to travel since shipping will probably take a year and lots of money, and I don't even have a postal thingy. The nearest Balenciaga is 5 countries away in another continent lol

First of all, I'm loving how the pandemic has shifted fashion shows. They're becoming pieces of art in themselves, not just showcases for the actual clothes. LV's fall winter 2022, GCDS's digital show and now this. Just the fact that this show didnt actually happen is crazy.

This show made me uncomfortable. The audience, the music, the blemness of it all. It scares me seeing how homogenic everything is getting. That the inspiration for uniqueness is often found online, which then isnt actually unique. The death of subcultures. It all feels very distant and cold and reflects well the way i'm feeling about the world right now.

Thank you for this disection of the show. I always geek out about these stuff.

Going to bring up two other youtubers who have made related comments that I agree with and feel fit into this convo well:

ThisisAntwon just talked about the internet homogenizing fashion/trends in his most recent video where he responded to a comment saying "techwear lacks creativity" and basically attributes this to social media/internet culture where because we have these subgroups, everyone wants to fit into the subgroup by buying the same items everyone else is wearing. So even though brands like Hamcus exist and are way more interesting and fit into techwear so well, everyone still buys the same acronym and nike acg jackets/pants (at least a first then maybe branch out once they've fit in to the group). I feel like this is true of fashion overall as well and really any subculture, you can categorize "influencers" as their own subculture of "trend chasers" who all need to wear the same or very similar items which then bleeds into the mainstream till you walk into an H&M filled with clones.

And then regarding a lack of anti-mainstream subcultures, Anthony Fantano (theneedledrop) did a video a while back replying to a video from Paul Joseph Watson (of Infowars) about his complaint that there is no subculture anymore and he says that that's not really true, the subcultures still do exist, but they exist on the internet in a way that "gives them a seat at the table". True you don't have to go to an underground concert to complain about Springsteen anymore, but there's certainly no shortage of people complaining about springsteen and you can do it in as public or as private a setting as you want on the internet, whether you want to tweet that opinion at Springsteen fans or join a discord/subreddit exclusively for springsteen haters. Those groups are just easier to find now. And the same thing can be said for fashion, where if I tell my friends that I want shoes with tabi toes they're going to think that's weird, but if I mention it online I'll get engagement, agreement, and questions about what colors I want them in.

I feel like every week someone is having a conversation about whether or not social media ruined fashion and I think that's almost the wrong question to ask, or at least too broad of a question to ask. I think the question is "for whom did social media ruin fashion?" I think you mentioned in a video a while back how there's a whole group of people who live without ever caring about what they wear, for those people, social media has had 0 effect. Then there's those who care about looking good but have no idea who margiela are, I think if it's ruined fashion for anyone, it's that group of people. The ones who are buying from H&M, Zara, Shein, Fashion Nova, etc. Where they're buying essentially balenciaga and rick owens designs but ripped off and made more accessible but in a way that sheds the uniqueness of those original designers. Then I think there's people like your viewers, for whom social media is a net positive. We now have access to more information, images, footage, etc of the world of fashion that we care about than we ever have before, so it's easier to appreciate it more. And I think (at least for me) social media was kind of a great gateway to move from that trendy fast fashion world into the deeper world we're talking about on channels like this one.

I see a video by Bliss, I click…

What did I learn?

That this topic hit a nerve. It’s not you, it’s my own fear of where we’re headed. While simultaneously I know that what’s meant to be has already been.

If you touch it in real life, will the totem have the same weight as in a dream? What about online where I can’t feel it?

A bunch of people tweeted some stuff about stuff, and they had an echo chamber of cancel culture and me-too, culture and race and religion and ethics and morals but is the opponent even paying attention? Or maybe that invisible team was tweeting about some other thing and creating and residing in their electronic echo chamber?

But, I truly felt affected emotionally by the weight of reading the electronic communication so, was it real?

How many taps do I have to experience in my dream to kick to the next level and wake up and feel the hug of my friend? Will they be suddenly be alive in my waking state? Were they ever really there at all? Is that really the sun?
Wash, rinse, repeat.  
Will I care about whether my totem or spinning top  continues to spin? Will I even know if I’m there, truly out of the dream?

Will my “likes” replace my desire to socialize? I can make it look real pretty in photos but will my loved ones know that I’m quietly dying on the inside?

If I own more of “the stuff” will that have made me more valid in the eyes of God?

Meh. Who cares, am I right?

Goes back to Instagram to go check my likes, listening to “Ma Vie en Rose”

But… it did make me think “oh, that’s clever” - the concept of homogenization of a “culture” is possible, how  what one may have worked years to learn about a certain field of study and the internet makes it possible to know the ins and outs of that skill, rendering the previous generation’s work as useless… a double edged sword…and it made me think, oh my Gosh, remember that? When we didn’t have such convenience?”
But, somehow I persist, and I believe you, everything is going to be ok.
And it made me think about the differences between that which we value. And who is we? The term “they” comes to mind, big car, house,  the expectations set upon us to do “well” and have something to show for it, but, if that’s not what I value, I must be different. But am I? And does it matter?

And yes, repackaged by Demna, it does make me uncomfortable because I feel it, and have felt it, but somehow I feel my voice is insignificant. Invisible.
Forgettable.
And will go unheard.

And different means not normal, and that can’t be good, right?

But, back to those little “luxuries” to feel a sumptuous fabric, to read poetry written by friends in correspondence, or discover old photos that no one will ever be privy to, to have fresh water, to potentially argue with someone about this, to even be able to comment on this take, that too is a luxury. One I can’t hold in my hand. And I do value it. But, now it’s not in analog format, regardless to whether or not I delete my comment or it gets deleted, it will have been recorded.

I’d totally wear the sunglasses though, to avoid people.

How was my performance?

" Everything is alright" is the best symbol for this life. Walking toward your own end. Powerful. Thanks.

I know this is an old video. But this really taught me to look at fashion differently. Fashion really is commentary from the designer/artist. And whether or not they are being intentional, their work is saying something. Fast fashion is speaking volumes in opposition to things like climate change and conservation. I’m starting my career in art at 30, and this video has really helped me. Thanks Bliss!

This video was awesome and very thought provoking. I think it's interesting that while commenting on homogenization Demna has presented a collection that would be hard for anyone to replicate in their own personal style. I might be off on that but the volume and silhouettes of the looks seem extreme or warped in a way. It's interesting to see these points raised within fashion, as I've gotten more into fashion sometimes I wonder what my personal style actually is. Once the technology I use and interact with becomes aware of my interest in fashion I am fed images and videos of clothing and people an algorithm thinks will capture and hold my attention. I think this can lead to an inauthentic experience. Despite the fact that I planted the seed and searched something to do with fashion or liked some ones fit pic, I cannot help but wonder how my path is diverted and influenced by algorithms.

The theme of homogenisation among fashion circles reminded me of this quote:

“In any period of fashion history, there are always a few brands that best signify the times, brands that those in the know feel they should be wearing. In the nineties, it was Helmut Lang and Margiela, and now it’s this. You wear your Vetements or Balenciaga with Acne shoes and Céline sunglasses, and you’re it — that’s how they function in their fashion minds.”
— Demna in an interview with Vestoj journal titled ‘On Authenticity’, 2017

This video is OFFENSIVELY GOOD

I wonder if Demna's latest works get your seal of approval!

As someone who has just begun to learn about the world of fashion in the light that you express, Bliss, it’s incredibly exciting to me to see these kinds of art pieces. The level of detail and intrigue that Demna infused into this show is something I only thought existed in music or “traditional art.” However, this show was eerie to me. As soon as I saw the first second of the first shot, a lot of the concept clicked immediately. The fact that I needed only a second to understand the context and basic commentary shows how scary these things truly are, at least for me, because it’s no longer a weird dystopia that Demna is presenting, it’s actually life. This video taught me to not be afraid to present your ideas, no matter the position you sit in because at least someone out there will feel seen and connect with that idea. As head designer for a mogul in fashion, Demna opened a door with this concept that is so close to critiquing his own employer, at least in my eyes. Wonderful video :)

As someone who truely is from this internet age. Born in 2002, doesn’t remember a time without YouTube or tumblr, I often find myself questioning just how much of a subculture I actually belong to, if they even exist. I feel that social media algorithms have mastered the notion of feeding you concepts that you already agree with so well that you sort of forget that there’s another voice on another part of the internet. I’m pretty sure many of us can relate to scrolling down the explorer page and seeing the same fits (drkshdw ramones, bb Simon belts, cargo pants) for thousands of posts and thinking that that’s just the mainstream now, what we forget is that that’s just what the algorithms show us, that there’s still a world full of supreme hypebeasts, or Jordan sneaker heads, that probably scroll thru their explorer page and see that type of content. However when I step into the real world I truely feel a universal sense of homogeny with the people I interact with. Maybe it’s because I’m in college but everyone listens to the same music, wears basically the same clothing, and care about the exact same things. And I question just how big of a role the internet plays in their lives. I feel like at its infancy the internet became a bastion for the social outcasts and rejects that couldn’t find human connection offline. While we all use the internet I feel that there’s a group of people that uses it to post their ig posts of them and their friends going to brunch and then laugh at some Daquan memes, and then there’s another group of people that go on Reddit to try and legit check their geobaskets, or go to discord, etc. idk if anyone else can relate but I personally feel like I belong to the group that has more interactions online with people of the same interests than they do in the real world, which can make the internet feel homogenous.

The comment about someone saying that the audience was actually wearing the pieces and the models were just a diversion blew my mind 🤯
Like wait a minute what? Lol

I’m not surprised at all to see Eliza as the muse for Denma at Balenciaga. I used to see her around NYC years ago and knew there was something special about her. She was always impossibly chic and just very much her own unique presence. I also found her to be very down to Earth.

I learnt that the exclusively tight knit clubs, and otherwise more secretive activities youth have been participating in recently may be a result of the internet caused homogeneity. I see me and my peers getting together with specific people for specific things, like talking about philosophy, brainstorming architecture, or going over political observations and theologies, but keeping those experiences limited to offline. It is so purposeful that I wonder if subcultures are being forced to return, but In a way that very few will know about simply because of the way it has had to recover from mass market adoption.

If The Matrix was a fashion show..
This show and the movie are talking about so many similar topics; questioning reality, questioning what u percieve, computers taking over, showing how subjective our own personal reality can be, ...

Watched this in Latin Class. very good :)

This video is perfectly timed, in the day of the release WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook went offline worldwide.