Balenciaga BB Monogram

This season, Balenciaga revives the 90s BB Monogram for a campaign that is a rebirth of cool. The update features a horizontally-stretched double B and diagonal stripe pattern embossed on coated canvas and denim using innovative rotary print and laser technology. This process effortlessly blends the motif with the base material, just as the revamp represents a smooth reimagining of the archival print brought up-to-date with modern technology.

Bringing verve to the campaign, the BB Monogram is presented with ready-to-wear items: pyjama sets, T-shirts, sweat shorts, stretch knee-pads, socks, and hoodies in bold repeating prints.  Options such as the Shopping Bag, the Bistro Basket, the Everyday Camera Bag, the Hardware Tote, and the Hourglass bag also sport the famous insignia to reinforce the family ties.  The monogrammed Rise Sandal, the Pool Slide, and Square Knife high-heel styles present nostalgic yet fresh footwear to be seen in carrying your bag.

The domestic settings for the campaign provides great juxtapositions for a new take on a household emblem.  Photographer Stef Mitchell trains her lens on familiar faces in the images.  The cast pose naturally yet with purpose in a story that shows the House’s strength in innovation without compromising craft.  The genuineness is found in the intimate settings located all around the world where the campaign was shot.  Kat Zhang is in front of a patio garden enveloped in a relaxed full denim look accessorised by a monogrammed Everyday Tote bag.  For a lighter option, Marie-Agnes hangs back on a sofa chair in an all-over printed pyjama set, matched by her equally striking Hourglass bag.  BFRND opts to keep it simple and wears his black monogrammed pyjamas at the launderette while he waits for his other clothes to dry.

All the silhouettes are familiar yet re-envisioned in modern ways.  The 90s ‘Canadian Tuxedo’ sports a contemporary edge of asymmetry and deconstruction.  Justin Bieber’s white vest and exaggerated baggy, low-slung jeans are pure Nirvana, and yet not.  With this campaign, the legacy House muses on the history, the futuristic and the avant-garde.  The monogram is iconic, but the silhouettes you’ll find them on are decidedly ultra-modern.

For more information on the Balenciaga BB Monogram, click here

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