Digital enhancement is shaping up to be fashion's newest editorial trend. With Balmain and Ugg embracing CGI influencers, like Shudu and Lil Miquela, respectively, to head up recent ad campaigns, the recent success of NYC celeb-supported pop-up A. Human which imagined a fabulous and freakish body-modded future, and Lady Gaga's nightmare-inducing Eli Russel Linnetz shoot, it is clear that we have swan dived into the deepest depths of the uncanny valley.
It was only a matter of time before Balenciaga, dad sneaker giant and ugly fashion pioneer, tried their hand digital manipulation and pushed it to new extremes. Posting a new video lookbook today on their Instagram, Balenciaga have teamed up with motion artist Yilmaz Sen to stretch the already exaggerated proportions of their SS19 collection to new lengths, literally.
Bending, streching, and distorting each look into new, physically impossible, shapes, viewers are treated to a surreal acid trip that makes Grace Jones' "Corporate Cannibal" look like a pleasant Charlie Chaplin film. Balenciaga and Sen manage to unsettle and intrigue simultaneously while still ultimately allowing the clothes to shine through as the star. If this is the future of fashion we are certainly freaked out, but also here for it.
Wrap your head around the lookbook below:
Photo via Instagram