With an all-new Balenciaga collaboration, the maker of HeatGear could be desirable, finally. Or, not? By Lester Fang In my news feeds today, it was not the reports of the Balenciaga Spring 25 show in Shanghai that came fast and furious. Rather…
With an all-new Balenciaga collaboration, the maker of HeatGear could be desirable, finally. Or, not?
By Lester Fang
In my news feeds today, it was not the reports of the Balenciaga Spring 25 show in Shanghai that came fast and furious. Rather, it was the brand's latest collaboration. You probably heard by now—whether you're interested or not—that Demna Gvasalia has paired Balenciaga with Under Armour. Nothing terribly exciting about that, but it is somewhat surprising to me. Then again, I shouldn't be astonished. Balenciaga did pair with Adidas two years ago, and that did not excite me one bit. But to understand it's appeal, I did go to the store and try on a track top. I looked like I had picked up and worn someone's laundry, dropped from a gala (bamboo pole) in an Ang Mo Kio flat. Sensing that I was not too excited, the sales guy said to me: "It must be oversized, then nice." I thanked him for the important education, and left thinking that I looked like shit.
To be certain, I only saw the pieces from the new collab online. Balenciaga thinks it will thrill fans to bits, so much so that they released an initial capsule in their e-shop as soon as the livestream went on air, tantalising with a giant GIF just below the video of the Shanghai show. I assume it was to ensnare Chinese consumers who still won't give up sacks-as-clothes, clumsy-for-cool. Still, it is not clear who might be mad about Balenciaga X Under Armour. If you, like me, are not able to see the immediate difference between this collaborative output and the one with Adidas, you might not find the will to part with increasingly hard-earned cash to buy what could have, in fact, already lost its edge. Is athleisure not quite of the past, even if recent?
...it was to ensnare Chinese consumers who still won't give up sacks-as-clothes, clumsy-for-cool
And the price is hard to digest. An oversized T-shirt (in "vintage" cotton jersey) is asking for S$1,150 and a roomy sweatpants for S$1,890 (in cotton "archetype" fleece). These prices of the nine-piece drop are hardly entry-level (even the cotton-blend socks that look like something you might find at a night market is S$195 a pair!). And it is challenging to see how the price commensurate to the nothingness of the Under Armour brand, even when the clothes are sized up to match Balenciaga distorted proportions; ditto the logos of both brands. Mr Gvasalia is inclined to pick the less-cool or non-fashion labels and turn them into something. He has jacked up the appeal of Juicy Couture and DHL for Vetements, and Crocs for Balenciaga. But has the novelty—once exalted as irony—not worn off yet?
The first time I encountered Under Armour was in Tokyo, exactly ten years ago. A friend, who saw UA tees worn in the gym, wanted to get one for himself. In Shibuya, we found the flagship, with the all-black, armoured vehicle-like, Bat-mobile-kind of façade. The impressive exterior belied the ho-hum merchandise inside. I was never drawn to Under Armour after that first encounter, and even less so when I learned in 2017 that the brand's CEO endorsed the now-felon President Donald Trump, who was then considered a "real asset" to the Baltimore-based brand. Truth be told, I am not drawn to collabs between luxury labels (as well as pretend ones, such as Yeezy) and sports brands. My visit to the Gucci X Adidas pop-up in 2022 that amounted to a near turn-off was enough to keep me in the same frame of mind. Some armours, even under, are hard to take off.
Product/model photos: Balenciaga. Photo illustration: Jim Sim
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