SPANISH design house Balenciaga put a new slant on the definition of 'wearables' this week – Apple accessories were literally 'worn' by models on the catwalk at Paris Fashion Week.
One example is shown in the above photograph, from Twitter, of a USB Lightning cable used as a hairband.
Cristóbal Balenciaga was originally from the Basque Country, but towards the end of his life was based in Jávea (northern Alicante province), where residents are clamouring for the council to open a museum themed on his career.
He was always known for plunging into unchartered fashion waters in life, and the company he founded continues to do so long after his death.
Another model at the recent Paris FW20 wore AirPods Pro wireless headphones instead of earrings, and several carried iPhones as though they were clutchbags.
Experts in the fashion industry say 2020 is set to be 'the year of accessories', although Balenciaga has shown this does not necessarily mean jewellery as we know it – or even SmartWatches.
Not all Balenciaga's recent designs have been great business moves, though: nearly two years ago, the launch of a 'T-shirt shirt', a men's short-sleeved T-shirt with a shirt sewn to the front of it, worn loose – or which could be reversible and used as a shirt but with a loose T-shirt hanging off the back – generated widespread hilarity on social media, with many actually believing it was a spoof at first.
To add insult to career injury, Balenciaga had launched another wardrobe disaster at the same time – a shirt sewn onto a shirt, so that one could be worn and the other hang loose from the front or the back.
These cost a cool €1,300, but the response on Twitter was that the design house 'couldn't pay them enough to be seen dead in it'.
Many said Cristóbal Balenciaga himself would be 'turning in his grave' if he saw it – but the mass amusement it caused almost certainly created a wave of publicity for the company.
