Fifty-two years after Cristóbal Balenciaga closed his eponymous couture house, Balenciaga will return to presenting haute couture. The French maison said on Monday that it would host its first show during the Autumn/Winter 2020 season under the creative direction of Demna Gvasalia.

“Haute couture is the very foundation of this House,” said Gvasalia, the top creative at Balenciaga since 2015, in a statement. “So it is my creative and visionary duty to bring couture back to Balenciaga.” The brand will establish a dedicated team at 10 Avenue George V, the location of the atelier first opened by Balenciaga in 1937.

The house’s return to the couture schedule crowns years of exponential growth for the label, which has become a pioneer of luxury streetwear under Gvasalia. “Under Demna Gvasalia, the brand has become more accessible online,” writes Kayla Marci, analyst at Edited, adding that the number of luxury e-tailers stocking the brand has risen by 25 per cent since 2015.

In 2018, Balenciaga was the fastest-growing brand in parent company Kering’s stable, which also includes Gucci, Saint Laurent and Bottega Veneta. The group didn’t specify results for most brands but said growth in its “other houses” category, which also includes Brioni, was driven by Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen.

The move comes as the financial importance of couture is being questioned by the wider industry, which generally sees the sector as a loss leader. There are just an estimated 4,000 clients worldwide that are willing to pay upwards of $10,000 for made-to-order garments crafted in Paris ateliers. Jean-Paul Gaultier recently announced his departure from couture when he confirmed that his 50th-anniversary show on 22 January would also be his last.

A vintage image of the Balenciaga atelier. © Maison Balenciaga, photograph by Thomas Kublin

Nonetheless, many still see couture as being of great creative value. Dior singled out Maria Grazia Chiuri’s SS18 haute couture show as a driver for the brand’s performance. Both Balmain and Givenchy re-entered the business in 2018, and Celine has announced plans to expand its offering to couture under Hedi Slimane.

Balenciaga chief executive Cédric Charbit says that his customers are already asking for couture. Gvasalia, who recently left his own brand, Vetements, in September, has been experimenting with the concept since its first collection. The Georgian designer revisited the brand’s archives and studied old lookbooks and photographs to reinterpret many of Cristóbal Balenciaga’s structural silhouettes through his avant-garde-infused lens, from puffers and suit jackets to fully fledged couture gowns. His latest collection included five voluminous crinoline ball gowns inspired by those early designs.

The move also comes as some brands strive to diversify from streetwear. While the category is still growing quickly, it has become an overused reference in the last few years. Designers like Virgil Abloh, whose recent AW20 collection for Louis Vuitton Men was all about suiting, are moving away. Gvasalia himself has voiced the need to return emphasis from uniqueness and scarcity of the product, typical of the streetwear model, to craftsmanship.

“[Haute couture] gives new content to the brand, reconfirms its exclusivity and represents a fantastic laboratory for experimentation,” says Mario Ortelli, managing partner of luxury advisory firm Ortelli&Co, adding that it is also attractive on social channels. “These images can reach millions of customers who might then buy into the brand's sneakers or T-shirts.”

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