The Real Cost of Balenciaga Couture: €100,000 Dresses, €40k Coats and €20k Sunglasses
Demna’s House has released the prices for its 52nd Couture collection, as well as notes on the craftsmanship involved.
It’s the question on almost no one’s lips: just how much does Balenciaga Couture cost? Deep-pocketed spenders and inquisitive fashionphiles alike, you’re in luck, as the House has released the prices for some of its most notable pieces from the just-showcased 52nd Balenciaga Couture collection.
Starting with the most expensive item on the currently-publicized list: Look 53, a bustier dress in red tulle inspired by Cristóbal Balenciaga‘s classic couture. The embroidered garment appears in lipstick-red and comprises a full-length array of corkscrew ribbons of varying sizes, each hand-cut and individually folded and placed with the utmost precision. Each ribbon is secured with a sequin head, which means the 800-ribbon item takes 160 hours to complete. It can be yours for €100,000 EUR, or roughly $109,000 USD.
The dress is paired with Balenciaga Couture’s Opera Pump pantshoe, which is crafted from a high-grade technical silk knit and cost €15,000 EUR, or $16,300 USD. Look 36’s maxi overcoat, cut in moleskin, is made by hand and features an archive-derived C-shape in the rear with a hand-pinned interior, and retails for €40,000 EUR/$43,500 USD, while the Spencer Jacket that is worn by the House muse Minttu Vesala comes in at €70,000 EUR/$76,200 USD, thanks to its use of tropical fresco wool and floating trompe-l’œil neckline. The matching skirt is €60,000 EUR/$65,300 USD, while the Rivoli choker in gold-toned brass (yes, brass) is €20,000 EUR/$22,200 USD as it is first 3D-printed, then cast in brass, worked, polished, and finished by hand.
There are more “affordable” items, such as the €2,200 EUR/$2,400 USD Blackout sunglasses, the €3,500 EUR/$3,800 USD Danielle earrings, and the €3,000 EUR/$3,200 USD Opera Pump heels, but this theme doesn’t last long. For example, a pair of rhodium-plated 18k gold Regata sunglasses with bio-nylon lenses come in at €20,000 EUR, and the truly amazing Lucien Freud-inspired windswept Coup de Vent black-and-grey checkered coat that’s shaped by hand over the course of two days costs €40,000 EUR.
Items such as the 220-hour-long processed oil-based painted cotton “denim” effect items are POA, however, a good indicator for the price can be taken from the trompe-l’œil pants of Look 28, using oil pant on leather for a pair of pants that cost €25,000 EUR/$27,000 USD.
Balenciaga Couture’s full price list can be found online, while those wishing to purchase the pieces will have to visit the store at 10 Avenue George V in Paris, France.
Elsewhere, take a look at Louis Vuitton’s Fall 2024 menswear.
