Balenciaga revealed two short videos that detail the craftsmanship and innovative approaches that are implemented in its 52nd Couture Collection. The videos illustrate how the House’s legacy of inventive technique and savoir-faire inspires today’s Couture by Demna. 

One of the videos features the first look of the 52nd Couture show, a replicate of a dress Danielle Slavik—Cristóbal Balenciaga’s preferred model from 1964 to 1968 and a current model for the House— wore in 1966. Its complex construction was remade without any archival patterns or samples, using only photographs as a guide. The dress, with velvet flowers and an integrated pearl necklace, connects the House’s past and present.

The other video shows a dress made of 10,000 faceted crystals that required 900 hours of production time. Created in collaboration between the Balenciaga couture atelier, a jewellery maker, and an embroiderer; the bustier section is constructed like an intricate jewelry piece and the skirt is 3D-printed in resin stone settings. Instances of avant-garde embroidery, haute joaillerie technique for garments, and even utilizing aeronautical engineering attest to the intrepid spirit that persists throughout the House, braiding history and today’s cutting edge.