Earlier today, Demna Gvasalia presented his AW18 collection for Balenciaga. We already told you everything you needed to know: it was the first co-ed show, there was a partnership with the World Food Programme, and oversized, layered silhouettes that have already been turned into memes featuring Friends’ Joey Tribbiani (you know, the one where he wears all of Chandler’s clothes).
However, one detail you might have missed was on looks 33 and 35 of the 72 look strong collection – not to mention on the giant, graffitied mountain that made up the set. The outfits – blue/white pinstripe, and black and white grid-pattern shirts – came printed with a French phone number across the front (+33 156 528 799) that Demna told us backstage after the show would connect you to an actual fake Balenciaga hotline. Because sure, why not? (“I was tired of making prints!” the designer explained.)
After a friendly Balenciaga bot greets you, you are told that you will be asked a few questions including your gender (which excellently includes transgender and non-binary options) and more personal questions like your marital status (single, duh), if you have a pet (a cat, obviously – see previous answer), and what your favourite shape is. Not that we have put much thought into that last one…
But what do you win at the end? Well, nothing. After completing the 20 questions the bot thanks you for answering and tells you “All data will be erased now”. We wouldn’t expect anything less from a hotline created by Gvasalia – the man who managed to sell the world designer DHL t-shirts.
Because we don’t believe in spoiler alerts, we aren’t going to tell you what the rest of the questions are. So if you want to find out, all you need to do is pick up the phone.
