Demna curates his own retrospective with Balenciaga by Demna, an exhibition held at Kering’s Laennec headquarters in Paris. Running from June 26 to July 9, the show reflects on a decade of work at Balenciaga, marking the end of his tenure with the Spring 2026 collection. The exhibition features 101 pieces drawn from 30 collections, selected to reflect the design system Demna developed between 2015 and 2025.
The exhibition opens with a collection of invitations, objects once sent to guests of Balenciaga shows, now framed as entry points into the broader archive. Demna uses them to set the tone: material markers of concept, provocation, and shift. From there, the exhibition moves into the full selection of garments, footwear, and accessories that define his time at the House. Each object reflects an element of his approach: volume, proportion, repetition, satire, and tension between luxury and realism.
Among the pieces on display, two come from the Palais Galliera in Paris. The rest trace back to runway collections that stretched and challenged conventional frameworks, often deliberately questioning the very idea of fashion systems.
The show revisits Demna’s methods: reinterpretations of Cristóbal Balenciaga’s forms, readymade structures, recontextualized objects, and visual trickery through trompe-l’œil. Recurring techniques, such as upcycling or distorted tailoring, appear not as decoration but as structural devices. Many looks dissect how clothing moves through context: how it shifts meaning based on who wears it and why.
Demna also brings back his work on the contemporary wardrobe. Uniforms, outerwear, corporate wear, and domestic references resurface throughout the displays. Each element probes the limits of fashion and its codes of presentation.
Demna introduces narration to 50 of the 101 pieces. Visitors listen to detailed explanations, with the designer discussing decisions behind shape, texture, and positioning. Instead of relying on static display, the exhibition incorporates sound, sculpture, and movement.
Some exhibits sit on mannequins or mounts. Others hang on dry-cleaner-style racks or rotate slowly on motors. A humanoid sculpture by Mark Jenkins reimagines the final look of Summer 2022, the red carpet collection worn by Demna himself. Elsewhere, six shoes and accessories appear inside works by Andrew J. Greene, rotating quietly on stainless-steel stanchions as part of his Timeless Symbols series.
The exhibition also includes a printed catalogue. Designed in the format of a fashion magazine, it combines documentation of the selected pieces with new imagery created for the publication. It functions as both archive and editorial, tracing not just what was made, but how Demna shaped Balenciaga into a platform for visual, social, and cultural disruption.
Visitors must register in advance to attend. The show runs for two weeks only and concludes Demna’s decade at the House with the precision, contradiction, and self-awareness that have defined his presence in fashion.
