Heading over to Paris for the Olympics? You might want Balenciaga momentos
Balenciaga is into holiday merchandise. Yes, those not always terribly functional things you buy to remember your vacations by. It is not good enough that you might go to Balenciaga's new Avenue Montaigne store to score something infused with the house codes as a keepsake, the brand now desires that you get a souvenir that is not stunningly different from what is hawked at tourists sights, such as the Eiffel Tower. But does Balenciaga really need to have a share of an already large and mature tourist souvenir market that, according to Business Research Insight, was US$97.8 billion in 2022?
The interesting thing is, Balenciaga does not even attempt to lessen the cheese factor of such offerings. Theirs look as if they share the same supplier as the street peddlers'. There are even postcards of scenic sights that some hotels might offer for free, minus the Balenciaga logo. The merchandise do not even look particularly fashionable. Deliberate? As with their Chip Bags? And for tourist souvenirs, they are staggeringly expensive. Postcards (pack of seven) of tourist sites of Paris (and stamped with the Balenciaga logo) is S$135, fridge magnets are S$165 apiece, rubber slippers for S$600 a pair, ceramic coffee mugs S$165 each, lanyard S$345 for one, or a nylon tote for S$345, just to list a few.
Of course, these days the lines between souvenir and luxury are truly blurred, so too between the fake and not. Luxury stores, ever increasingly as varied in their merchandise offerings as department stores, cannot resist the 'entry-level', even those that they would traditionally not consider. When Dior offers this season's pullovers, dresses, and skirts with the print of the Eiffel Tower, you thought it was touristy enough (we doubt Parisians would wear them), but Balenciaga took it steps further—down to the Champ de Mars—to see what those peddlers who would come up to you offering jewellery (Eiffel Tower earrings that recall Yves Saint Laurent's of the '80s), souvenirs or other objects sell. Only now, you go to Balenciaga.
Product photos: Balenciaga. Collage: Just So
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