‘The Simpsons’ Meet Balenciaga at Paris Fashion Week
Balenciaga’s “Red Carpet Collection” for spring 2022 was set up like a film premiere — with fashion professionals and celebrities including Cardi B, Lewis Hamilton and Elliot Page filing into the Théâtre du Châtelet.
But when the lights went down, the audience was treated to a bespoke 10-minute episode of “The Simpsons” in which Homer treats Marge to a Balenciaga birthday gift, unleashing hilarious scenes that climax with the town of Springfield flown to Paris by Demna Gvasalia to model in his show.
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The fashion pack roared with approval as Homer Simpson attempts to pronounce the fashion brand — “Balun, Balloon, Baleen” — and ultimately ends up wearing a supersized red parka and serenading his wife in French.
The episode featured cameos by Vogue’s Anna Wintour along with grouchy bartender Moe in a big-shouldered camel coat.
According to the house, the bespoke cartoon “is the latest in a progression of activations that push certain boundaries set up between fashion and other forms of entertainment, culture and technology, shifting the brand away from an easily definable category.”
To be sure, the entire production was highly entertaining, with guests filing into the venue with an expansive photo call, all of which was broadcast inside as if it was the Oscars.
Everyone from fashion critic Cathy Horyn to acclaimed French actress Isabelle Huppert vamped it up for the camera.
Eventually, models dressed in Balenciaga’s latest collection began filtering in, turning the tables and letting the audience be part of the fashion show.
Gvasalia also invited members of his design team to walk the red carpet, eliciting thunderous applause from the Balenciaga employees seated in the upper balconies.
The star-studded event attracted hundreds of curiosity seekers outside the venue, and added a frisson of Hollywood glamour to Paris Fashion Week, which continues in the French capital until Oct. 5.
See Also:
Roger Vivier Brings Fantasy Back to Paris Fashion Week
Jonathan Anderson Gave a ‘Touch of Surreal’ to Loewe for Spring 2022
Valentino to Release “Vaccinated” Hoodies to Support COVID-19 Vaccine
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