Balenciaga Unveils: The Hacker Project

November 09, 2021

Balenciaga pop-up and pop-in stores will launch The Hacker Project series, which debuted during the Spring ‘22 runway show. Unique displays and structures will plague 74 physical spaces worldwide. Balenciaga's monograms are injected into some of the coveted silhouettes from Gucci 一 a reinterpretation of Gucci’s codes takes place, springing up questions about branding, appropriating, and counterfeiting.

Standalone pop-up stores and transformed Balenciaga store spaces take creative approaches to present the project’s ideas and products 一 cross-branded ready-to-wear, accessories, bags, and cases. Each physical launch includes unique aviations and exclusives that alter surrounding areas and recontextualize the brand.

Text by Ronald Kahihikolo
Photography Courtesy of Balenciaga

Some of Balenciaga’s signature architectural elements — logo-shaved carpet, velvet stage curtains, and weathered metal — are reimagined for the launch. Carpets and curtains are etched with a classic Gucci all-over print, but with double-Bs subbed in for double-Gs. Aluminum displays are stained with acid to mimic scrubbed graffiti. Store windows are tagged in the graffiti style with “GUCCI.”

In selected locations and for a limited time only, double-B monogram shopping bags will be hand-tagged by a local artist at the time of purchase. These can be customized and personalized with a customer’s first name, reading “THIS IS” their “BAG.”

Check out the collection below.

Fashion

A New Lee® and Alpha Industries Collaboration Takes Flight

Fashion

Escaping the Glass Cage

November 19, 2024

For years, she stood still, watching life rush past her, a quiet observer behind the glass. Now, the glass is broken, and she steps out into the unknown. She walks through the city, caught between two worlds—part of it, yet apart from it.

Her journey is quiet but bold, searching for something she’s never understood, something just out of reach. On church steps and under glowing city lights, she questions everything: the rules, the past, and where she truly belongs. Each step feels both freeing and uncertain.

A curious soul in a borrowed life, she keeps moving forward, leaving behind only whispers of her escape, like a fleeting shadow in the night.