Balenciaga Teams Up with NBA, Partners with Manolo Blahnik, and Hosts Madrid Exhibition

Balenciaga takes to the court with ready-to-wear. The Kering-owned French luxury house has launched a collaboration with the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a reflection of the centrality of the body in the designer’s dressing philosophy and the dynamic energy and collective spirit of basketball, captained by the brand’s creative director, Pierpaolo Piccioli.

Comprised of ready-to-wear garments, footwear, accessories and small leather goods, the collaboration between Balenciaga and the NBA has been launched as an exclusive premiere on the brand’s web platform, as well as in select stores.

The collection is comprised of pieces steeped in the basketball universe and reinterpreted through the maison’s identity, such as long and short-sleeved T-shirts, tracksuits, varsity jackets and coach jackets.

In addition, they are made from traditional materials such as leather, nylon sateen and regenerative cotton poplin, as well as Japanese denim. Their most visible element is the number 10, with which they have been marked and in homage to the address of the house’s historic headquarters on Avenue George V in Paris.

Balenciaga teams up with Manolo Blahnik in a collaboration honoring its origins.

Balenciaga has not only looked to sports in recent months to commemorate its history, but also to its Spanish roots with another brand with whom it shares origins. Manolo Blahnik has teamed up with the house for the launch of three styles of heels featured in Balenciaga’s fall collection.

This new capsule was the result of a creative dialogue between Piccioli, the unwavering spirit of the house’s founding designer and the inspiration of Manolo Blahnik’s archival designs. The collaboration includes a low-heeled mule and a model with a back strap over a heel revealing the body with a cleavage cutout. All three styles are crafted in silk satin and offered in a variety of colors with a Balenciaga gray lining.

The iconic ‘maison’ comes to Villanova University with a reproduction of the outfits from its series.

Balenciaga will land, in honor of his legacy, also in Madrid, where the University of Villanueva will host the exhibition From the atelier to the screen: the legacy of Balenciaga, through 18 reproductions of the costumes created for the Cristóbal Balenciaga series.

Organized by the degree in Fashion Communication and Management, the exhibition can be visited at the campuses of the institution, which will divide the exhibition from January 20 to February 2 in building B of the campus located on Costa Brava street, and from February 5 to 12 of the same month at the campus on Zurbano street.

The exhibition will be complemented by a selection of books on the couturier from the documentary archive of the Villanueva University library.