Ruined Jeans for $2450

The fashion people are at it again, selling ruined clothes for astronomical prices to people who think they get it. 😮😮

 

Balenciaga's creative director, Demna Gvasalia explained that the Spanish fashion house now have a whole department dedicated to ageing their clothes and making them dirty. Part of the line-up, these jeans are cut from premium Japanese denim and given the label's "Super Destroyed" treatment.

 

Out of the blue, I saw this news on Covid-19 in Malaysia. And no, it has not gone away. I don't think it'll ever disappear.  

 

The number of cases have dropped sharply in the Epidemiological Week (ME14/2024) from March 31 to April 06, as reported by the country's Health Ministry today. 

 

Their director-general Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan said the ME 14/2024 period documented 493 cases compared to 17,256 cases in the ME 1/2024 period. This represents a huge drop of about 97.1 percent. 

 

And the number of deaths in Covid-19 cases also showed a significant decrease from 32 cases in ME 1/2024 to just one case in ME 14/2024 (95.5 percent decrease), he added.

 

For good measure, he pointed out that the Omicron variant and its sub-variants, which is still spreading in Malaysia, does not cause severe infection. 

 

I suppose it is good to know that the MOH continue to track Covid.

Beautiful Old People Are Works of Art

Pursuant to my post "WSC's Twenty-fifth Meeting" published yesterday, this cartoon strip gives an explanation on beauty – but with a different perspective: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Balenciaga go heavy metal! 

 

The French luxury fashion house introduce their "DIY Metal" line. Emblazoned with Balenciaga logos in a variety of metal typography – from 80s glam metal to death metal. 

The line includes the $825 t-shirt above along with $1,250 hoodies, $150 socks, and a $2,350 purse.

Luxury Paper Shopping Bags Are In Demand

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The paper shopping bags of high-end fashion labels have become on-trend items for everything from ferrying lunches to appearing in TikTok backgrounds.

 

To the uninitiated, it may seem like lovers of high fashion are getting up earlier these days. But the plethora of designer paper bags seen on the bus in the mornings often do not contain purchases from Chanel or Prada – but commuters’ packed lunches.The trend brings a whole new meaning to the term “designer bag”, with even Birkin-loving Kim Kardashian seen clutching one at Balenciaga’s show in Los Angeles this month. 

 

On resale sites such as eBay, empty paper carrier bags from luxury brands such as Chanel and Balmain can sell for as much as £65. Prices for a paper Hermes bag start at £45, while the box begins at £200. A Smythson bag with matching tissue paper tends to go for £40, while a set including eight different brands – spanning Gucci, Burberry and La Mer – starts from £114. 

 

Kardashian’s particular bag was later revealed to be a collaboration between Balenciaga and Erewhon – an expensive organic grocery store in the US that has become a mecca for health freaks. It has become the most high-profile example of the unlikely movement for carrier bags that is sweeping high-fashion, as well as the secondhand market.

 

Even an advertising campaign for the luxury brand Bottega Veneta showed the American rapper – and Rihanna’s husband – ASAP Rocky carrying an ersatz brown paper supermarket bag, which he filled with chard and orange chrysanthemums. Dubbed the “Medium Brown Bag”, it is made from suede-lined calfskin – and retails for £1,800. 

 

It riffs on the department store chain Bloomingdale’s, which first launched its paper “Little Brown Bag” in 1973. Instantly recognisable, it became a signifier of an aspirational American lifestyle. A PVC version followed in 1995.

 

There are many reasons for consumers buying into the trend via resold £10 paper Chanel bags on resale sites. Some buy them to display in their homes, the Gen Z equivalent of fine-bone china. Others use them to create an illusion of wealth – either in public or on social media. Instagram and Tiktok is awash with influencers carefully placing them in the background or being incorporated into footage of shopping hauls and “unboxing” videos – in which users dramatically undo ribbons and peel back tissue paper to reveal their latest purchase. 

 

Some people buy real designer carrier bags in which they give fake designer bags as gifts. Others may have bought a real designer item on a secondhand site and want the corresponding carrier bag to match. There are even TikTok hacks for turning a designer paper bag into a more durable bag by wrapping it in plastic.

 

In 2021, a study found that a group of 17 black-and-white paper Chanel carrier bags sold for £265. December is one of the busiest months, with Tiffany’s signature blue bags and Jo Malone boxes in particularly high demand. 

 

Isabelle Szmigin, a professor of marketing at the University of Birmingham, says carrier bags are tied up with identity. “They have value and substance because it implies that you have some connection with that brand and that means credibility, especially on social media”, she added. 

 

One eBay user, who wishes to remain anonymous, is a VIP customer at Harrods and started selling her old paper bags as a side hustle during lockdown. She says as a VIP she regularly receives purchases in limited edition carrier bags that differ from those given to general customers, making them particularly desirable. 

 

Another user, Helen Pacey recently sold an empty Christian Dior paper bag and matching gift box that had originally housed one of the brand’s perfumes for £85. She said: “Demand for these type of paper bags really took off when the plastic bag levy was introduced. People now see them as a luxury. Many are embossed and tied with a ribbon. It makes you feel more special”.

Balenciaga's Towel Skirt

If you had a spare $925, Balenciaga would like to sell you a towel skirt.

 

Yes, you heard it right! The skirt is from look 30 of the fashion house's Spring 24 Collection, and is now ready to pre-order on their website. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Labeled as being a unisex item, the skirt is 100 percent cotton and has two buttons on the waistline, as well an adjustable belt buckle on the inside. Of course, the knee-length skirt comes with the Balenciaga logo embroidered tone-on-tone at the front, apparently. 

 

In light of it looking the same as a towel you could probably buy from Walmart or wherever and wrap it around your waist for hundreds of dollars less, people have taken to X to voice their thoughts.

 

Some have questioned if it's a prank, but April 1st is still a couple of months away! 

 

"Balenciaga is selling a towel wrapped around somebody’s waist as a skirt for $925", someone said. "Please be f**king for real". 

 

"These folks definitely have forgotten their brain", said someone else while referring to the fashion house's designers. 

 

"Balenciaga’s $925 towel skirt… f**k fashion bruh", penned another followed by a string of laughing emojis. 

 

Someone else fumed: "That's ridiculous! Who would pay that much for a towel skirt?" 

 

"What kind of madness is this? At least I'm not their target market", laughed one person.

 

I would love to know how many of these things Balenciaga actually sell...

 

Liverpool’s youngest European team in their history found the Europa League just too tough for them as Jürgen Klopp’s experimental side lost the dead rubber 2-1 in Brussels yesterday against Union Saint Gilloise.

 

The Belgian side scored first in the thirty-second minute. Twenty-year-old centre-half Jarell Quansah equalised with a powerful effort from inside the penalty area for his first Liverpool goal. And then, the hosts regained the lead just before half-time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite the loss, the Reds won Group E with 12 points from their six games. They will not play another European fixture until the last 16 in March and can focus on the other competitions. 

 

They now have three vital home games – Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday, West Ham in the EFL Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday and then Arsenal in the league on December 23.

WorldPride Mural Angers Sydneysiders

In Australia, someone “took matters into their own hands” and painted over a provocative “kink and BDSM-inspired” WorldPride mural in Sydney’s CBD, following calls from locals to take it down. 

 

The York Street wall painting by YCK Laneways featured a “furry” man in leather-bondage with a teddy bear head, lying on a couch with a pride flag and beer can. 

 

It was supposedly created to promote the consortium of local shops in nearby streets, but some Sydneysiders have since labelled it as “disgusting”, “sick” and “extremely inappropriate” for children. 

 

“Where the hell do we draw the line here?” one critic questioned. “This is extremely inappropriate (especially for children seeing this) to say the least. I don’t care how much time, effort or money went into making this mural. I don’t see pride and acceptance here, it’s grooming”. 

 

Another added: “Absolutely disgusting that you think this is okay to have in a public space where children walk by. Nothing to do with pride either. How embarrassing and shameful”. 

 

Among the comments from angered locals on a video of the mural being created was calls to remove the painting with one mum going an extra step further suggesting someone should “paint over” it. 

 

“CALLOUT TO ALL THE MEN!!!!! Go to Wynyard and paint over this filth!!!!”, she exhorted. 

 

And someone did just that. 

 

In a video posted to TikTok, the mural – which some said shared similarities with a recent Balenciaga fashion house scandal linking adult sex to children – was captured covered in paint. 

 

White paint appeared to be splashed over the top of the bear’s face while black paint covered the leather bondage on its body. The words “leave the kids alone” were also scrawled on the side. 

 

Police were notified of the defacement on February 22, 2023. 

 

Meanwhile, the City of Sydney said the piece was installed on a privately owned wall as an advertising billboard. The spokesperson said any concerns about the content of advertisements should be directed to the Advertising Standards Bureau. 

 

Sky News host Chris Kenny said: “Some group comes along and commissions a World Pride mural like this, right in the middle of the city, mixing up sado masochism, gay pride, gimp suits, and kids teddie bears in one very public location. I mean, hardly surprising, is it? A provocative mural, provoked a response”. 

 

The video of the painting’s aftermath, was largely applauded online with many commenters posting thumbs up and clapping emojis. 

 

“Not all heroes wear capes”, one comment on the post read. 

 

“Love it!!! I saw a pic earlier of a dad walking his daughter across the street and she’s holding a teddy bear. So happy they did the right thing!” another commented. 

 

And a third said: “I was waiting for this to be done. Well done!!!!!!”

Balenciaga's $1790 Trash Bag

This bag is getting lots of trash talk. 

Balenciaga are raising eyebrows – and getting trashed – over their “Trash Pouch”, a baffling design “inspired by a garbage bag” with an even more outrageous price tag. For only $1,790, you can be on your way to the dumpster in cool style. 

The luxury fashion house’s shiny drawstring bag – which is made out of calfskin leather, emblazoned with a discreet logo and comes in a choice of four colors: black, white, yellow and blue – is making its way to stores after debuting in the Fall 2022 ready-to-wear collection in Paris in March. 

“I couldn’t miss an opportunity to make the most expensive trash bag in the world, because who doesn’t love a fashion scandal?” Balenciaga’s creative director Demna Gvasalia (right) told Women’s Wear Daily at the time. 

Now being sold in stores, the “Trash Pouch” has gone viral thanks to Kim Kardashian's Instagram post that garnered lots of trash talk, with reactions ranging from wonderment and outrage to ridicule and fits of laughter.

Please tell me nobody is buying this bag, right?

A Cracked iPhone as an Invite

Without creativity and innovation, every company would follow the same marketing tactics and strategies. And that can be boring.

But there are times when letting loose creativity can lead to quirky outcomes.

Balenciaga’s Paris Fashion Week that was held on Sunday, March 06, 2022 is a case in point.

Image credit: https://www.ladbible.com/news/balenciaga-use-smashed-iphones-as-invites-20220303, published March 03, 2022 

The luxury fashion brand invites have left social media users scratching their heads and chins. Instead of the more traditional paper invites – or even an eco-friendly digital version – it went with a card informing the receiver about the program, together with a cracked iPhone with the event details engraved on the back. 

The French label said the iPhone was a “genuine artefact from the year 2022” – meaning it and its accompanying damage is real – it’s just not functioning and is for ‘display purposes only'. 

Now’s my turn to scratch my head and chin. 

The wacky choice of invite has not been a hit with everyone, though, with some folks taking to social media to brand the move uninspiring, to put it politely. 

One person wrote: “Balenciaga iPhone invite is so f***ing lame. y’all like the dumbest s***". 

Another person dissed it. “Nah, I don't vibe with the old iPhone Balenciaga invitations. Tacky”. 

And another said: “A cracked old iPhone being as an invitation for Balenciaga is considered luxury now?” 

However, others seemed to quite like the off-the-wall idea. 

One wrote: “These old iPhone Balenciaga invites are pretty cool. I like it". 

While another commented: “Balenciaga sent out invited to its upcoming show. The invite was a broken iPhone 6s with Balenciaga details in laser prints on the back. Wow”. 

As for me, I don’t know what to say really.

Fashion Brands Give a Helping Hand

It’s nice to know that big-name fashion brands have stepped forward to give a helping hand in the fight to contain Covid-19. 

Prada, Gucci, COS, Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga and Yves Saint Laurent are among the many labels which produced face masks. 

Additionally, luxury group Kering purchased and imported masks to supply the French health service. 

Likewise, LVMH brought in surgical masks and FFP2 disposable particulate respirators from China to be distributed to medical workers. They even converted their factories, which usually manufacture perfumes under labels such as Givenchy and Guerlain, to the production of hand sanitizer. 

Moncler gave €10 million (£9.2 million) towards the construction of a 200-25-bed hospital in Milan, Italy. 

Mayhoola, the parent company of Valentino and Balmain, chipped in $2 million to the coronavirus effort. 

Giorgio Armani contributed $1.4 million to four of Italy’s busiest hospitals. 

Donatella Versace doled out more than $200,000 to the intensive care unit of Milan’s San Raffaele hospital. 

And Giorgio Armani donated $1.4 million to four of Italy’s busiest hospitals. 

I thought these are really wonderful gestures. 

As a way of saying thanks to these iconic fashion brands, I would like to share this clever commercial parody for a brilliant, but (hopefully) fictional one-of-a-kind luxury item, the Prada Body Bag:

Fashion that’s to die for! Definitely, the most elegant way to make a final impression! 

FYI, this video is by The Kloons, a threesome comprising Mitch Lewis, Greg Washburn and Nik Kazura, who creates comedy sketches for YouTube.

Sneakers that Marry Fashion with Sports

A model presents a creation from the Dolce & Gabbana Autumn/Winter 2018 women collection during Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, February 25, 2018

Luxury fashion and sports are coming together. And it looks as if they have become inseparable. 

Strange bedfellows alright but it is the in-thing now. And yielding big profits for those involved in the business. Already, both luxury groups and sports companies are looking to cash in on a booming market. 

Premium sneakers can start at around $400 but can easily go up as high as $3,000 for a pair of Christian Louboutin’s leather, crystal-embellished sneakers. 

And limited editions can even sell for well over $10,000, including the Chanel X Pharrell Hu Race Trail or Nike’s Air Jordan 3 Retro DJ Khaled Grateful. 

High-end brands such as Gucci, Prada and Balenciaga are increasingly looking to sneakers for growth, putting them in direct competition with sportswear giants like Nike, Puma and Adidas – and creating ever-more striking and swank designs. 

A Reuters report put global sales of sneakers – or trainers – to have expanded by 10 percent to 3.5 billion euros in 2017. 

For sure, sneakers are a big driver of the luxury shoe business – in fact, luxury sneakers represent the fashion industry’s fastest-growing segment. 

Bruce Pas, Men’s Fashion Director at US department store Neiman Marcus – a leading purveyor of the world's most unique luxury goods – trumpets: “It’s not really even a trend anymore – it’s become a category”. 

The rise of luxury sneakers is part of the growing influence of casual and streetwear in high-end fashion, where it is now acceptable to team sneakers with a tailored suit. 

Upmarket brands are tapping into street style to refresh their looks and young buyers are driving the shift. “Millennials” – born between the early 1980s and mid-90s – already represent a third of the luxury market, according to consultancy Bain & Co. 

It has been noted that even with intensifying competition, profits will remain very healthy. 

“There is (a) large space for prices moving up”, said Erwan Rambourg from HSBC. It seems that the ‘luxurization’ of sneakers can only impact margins positively. 

Designer footwear or luxury sneakers or couture sneakers or whatever we may wish to call them – they are a fast-growing market segment. 

Even for sportswear companies, like Adidas, fashion collaborations are not unusual. 

In fact, Adidas recognize that it is a way of expanding their company’s creative ecosystem and keeping consumers engaged and excited by the Adidas brand in a fast-moving market. “These days the pace has become so fast. People go to verticals, like H&M and Zara, and expect new products every month. Even with high fashion labels, it’s the cruise collection and pre-collections; every three months you get something new”, said Dirk Schönberger, creative director of Adidas’ sport style division. 

“We are a very commercial brand, so, of course, we have to deliver – at a minimum every week – something that excites the consumer. The verticals and the [speed of the] Internet have changed the way we do things”, he added. 

When a market opportunity presents itself, you can be sure marketing-driven companies will be in the thick of the action. It’s business, after all!