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Salma Hayek didn’t have to throw a luxurious outfit, wear makeup, or even put on a mask to attend the Balenciaga fashion show. Not because she is fighting beauty standards or purposely violating any of the CDC guidelines, but because the fashion house founded by Spanish designer Cristóbal Balenciaga is using virtual reality (VR) to simulate the catwalk experience from the comfort of your own home.
“Today I had a completely new experience attending the Fall 21 @balenciaga show. I didn’t have to dress up or put makeup on, because I got to watch it virtually from home. I did try to touch the clothes but it kept going away as I was approaching... until I hit the wall,” wrote the award-winning Mexican actress sharing a photo of herself wearing an Oculus VR headset and controllers.
The luxury brand currently based in Paris, and its creative director, Demna Gvasalia, presented the Fall 2021 collection in a new video game. Set in 2031, Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow lets players choose their characters and walk through a Balenciaga store with models dressed in the Fall 2021 collection, plus sit front row during the show.
“The narrative of Afterworld is anchored to mythological pasts and projected futures with timeless archetypes and speculative imagery. The world may appear decaying at first, but it is far from a dystopian view, showing instead the slow return to a healthier balance of nature and industry,” the fashion house informed in a press release.
According to WWD, Gvasalia said “fashion is about loving clothes” and using them as a “modern-day armor” to express ourselves. The designer revealed that the brand started working on the video game idea last April. “You create the whole world from scratch — what type of trees you put, with what leaves on them, what type of sunset,” he said. “For the game visual to look authentic and realistic, you really have to consider every single detail.”
The Balenciaga Fall 2021 collection includes the PlayStation 5 logo and NASA patches in outerwear pieces and T-shirts. Other shirts feature the words “when I am done with this T-shirt, I will donate it.” The brand also presented oversized jackets and parkas, plus medieval-style armor boots.
Enjoy below the VR version of the Balenciaga Fall 2021 fashion show.