Balenciaga in the hands of Nicolas Ghesquiere has always gone to unknown frontiers where the past is fully reconciled and Ghesquiere and his team can concentrate on thrusting forward material research. This season though, this type of forward thinking has been exploited even more. Playing with textures derived from the home, the show started with panelled square cut jackets that recreated elements like polystyrene, lino and carpet and skirts that looked almost like sections of upholstery. This then developed into long sleeved shift dresses, sweaters and cropped trousers that were made up of sections of digitally printed fabric. It became increasingly about pushing technical feats of fabrications as laser cut lace gave sweet dresses a razer-sharp edge, geometric patterns that looked like CAD drawings perforatedthe knitwear and diamond quilting created winged silhouettes. The footwear equally sought to match these tech-driven garments with their engineered chunkiness and plastic encasings. The final portion of the show involved words woven into geometric patterns on dresses and flared-out tops which weren't really about throwing slogans at you but seemed to try and investigate the beauty behind typography. Just one of many instances in this collection where Ghesquiere looks for beauty in the unexpected.