Ghesquiere's World

By Laura Bradley, 17:44 Mon 09 Oct 2006

After three weeks of (almost non-stop) fashion coverage, our final instalment from Paris Fashion Week centres on our visit to the Balenciaga showroom. Situated in the 6th arrondissement -the building also houses the atelier, press offices and the bi-annual catwalk presentations- the impressive showroom, recently decorated with an industrial colour theme (electric blue and grey with white acrylic display stands), played host to Ghesquiere's S/S '07 collection, displayed on clothing rails, a series of mannequin legs and on models that circulated the space alongside rolling footage from Tuesday's runway show screened on small television monitors. The extensive range -including pieces from the pre-season, show and selling collections- inspired by the 1980s 'Transformers' toyline, clearly demonstrated Ghesquiere's virtuoso technical abilities, futuristic design vision and continued commitment to the skinny silhouette. The much-coveted and commercially viable components of the Balenciaga brand were displayed in adjoining rooms: structured bag designs presented in varying shades joined the infamous Lariat as well as goggle-style glasses, gold cartridge belts and intriguing razor-sharp, stiletto-heeled shoes, courtesy of long-time collaborator Pierre Hardy (a similar design was spotted during our visit to Hardy's showroom earlier in the week), fashioned in metallic snakeskin.