A BRIEF HISTORY OF BALENCIAGA

In 1917, Cristobal Balenciaga founded his namesake line, Balenciaga, in San Sebastian, Spain where he opened Eisa, his first haute couture house which was named for his mother. Due to the Civil War, he moved to Paris in 1937 where he opened his first fashion house at 10 Avenue George V. This shop was where he launched the Balenciaga brand and presented his first collection to the press and buyers.

From the 1950s and into the 1960s, Balenciaga single-handedly revolutionized the fashion industry with the creation of some of today’s top designs such as the tunic dress, the baby doll dress, the “sac” dress, the balloon mini dress, the empire waist styles, and collarless blouses.

In 1968, Cristobal presented his last collection and abruptly retired from Balenciaga. He passed away in 1972.

Nicolas Ghesquiere was promoted to serve as Creative Director of Balenciaga from 1997 until 2012. Ghesquiere was credited with creating the Classic City and the Motorcycle bags, with iterations like the Town, the Envelope, the Mini Pom Pom and the Polly. He was also known for the Gladiators, neoprene dresses, and bold floral prints. In 2001, Kering Group acquired the brand.

Following on the successful heels of Nicholas Ghesquiere, Alexander Wang was named creative director from 2012 to 2015. He’s credited with Americanizing the brand and bringing modern twists to bubble skirts, peplum hems, and cocoon coats.

Today, Balenciaga is owned by Kering Group and run by creative director Demna Gvasalia, a Georgian whose family moved during the civil war and eventually landed in Dusseldorf, Germany. Gvasalia, who co-founded Vetements with his brother, has been credited as a disruptor in the fashion industry and seamlessly mixed Balenciaga’s avant-garde approach with his love of streetwear and oversized, playful clothing.

As of 2022, Demna is still creative director and some of his greatest hits include the puffer coat, oversized tees, Triple S Sneakers, kimono-style robes, and hourglass blazers. Demna is credited with Alessandro Michele on the uber-successful launch of the Balenciaga x Gucci collab.

THE HACKER PROJECT

Known as The Hacker Project, Gucci and Balenciaga’s highly anticipated collaboration was an “exploration on ideas of authenticity and appropriation within the fashion industry” and was presented to the world at Gucci’s Aria show in April of 2021. Officially available for purchase in November 2021, this capsule collection by two Kering brands featured classic Gucci and Balenciaga bags, shoes, clothing, and accessories, and then combined the two brands to create a new line.

Released four months after Gucci’s collaboration with The North Face, Allesandro Michele joined forces with Balenciaga’s Demna Gvasalia to create this exclusive, limited-edition hack that’s a nod to counterfeit culture by mixing and matching the motifs to create new interpretations of iconic, signature pieces like the Balenciaga City Bag and the Gucci Jackie.

The collection included a skirt suit with strips of Balenciaga and Gucci emblems, logomania blazers, hacker caps, a new take on Balenciaga’s Triple S sneakers, and outerwear decorated with Gucci’s monogram. The hacks included the Balenciaga Hourglass bag, which was mixed with the Gucci monogram print, the Gucci GG belt which featured Balenciaga’s BB logo, a monogrammed Gucci tote that says, “This is not a Gucci bag” and duffle bags.

THE HACKER PROJECT ON THE RESALE MARKET

While most of The Hacker Project sold out on the first day, now that the dust has settled you can still find some of these Gucciaga bags, shoes, clothing and accessories on both Gucci and Balenciaga’s sites, but not for long. Shoppers, collectors and resellers are snapping up these limited-edition pieces with the intent of either collecting them or reselling the items at a premium and you need to get in on the action too.

These rare, one-of-a-kind pieces will soon be gone and that means shoppers who weren’t able to get their hands on these fashionable treasures will be on the hunt for them. We predict a slow price climb as the demand increases and supply decreases.

Whether you purchase an accessory or two, or splurge on a chunk of the collection, we can guarantee you as time goes on, the value will continue to increase, and you’ll have resale gold on your hands.

Keep checking LePrix Wholesale for our own stock of the Gucci x Balenciaga collab. While it might be too soon for the resale market, we know The Hacker Project pieces will start trickling in very soon.

SHOP BALENCIAGA & GUCCI AT LEPRIX WHOLESALE

Meet LePrix Wholesale, the most trusted and largest online platform to source authentic, pre-owned luxury. With LePrix Wholesale at your service, you have immediate access to all the bestselling designer pieces for your resale business.

You’ll never again have to spend countless hours searching for the hottest Louis Vuitton pochette or the classic Chanel bag at a healthy margin. Or stress over currency conversions, the customs and shipping process, or the authenticity of your purchases. Every item on LePrix Wholesale is inspected and authenticated multiple times. You can easily add a Certificate of Authenticity with your order.

On our wholesale platform, every item comes with a description, condition, and letter grade for top brands. By leveraging deep data analytics and AI, our platform also shows you a suggested minimum resale price and estimated profit margin for top pre-owned brands like Chanel, Hermès and Dior. Every item is LePrix-vetted and inspected so you and your customers can rest assured knowing that each purchase is authentic.

If you’re a business, you may qualify for exclusive access to authentic, pre-owned designer bags, jewelry, and accessories at wholesale prices. Find out more here.

ABOUT LEPRIX

LePrix means “the price” and “the prize” in French, which captures the spirit of the hunt for pre-owned luxury. The thrill of the hunt sparked the launch of the world’s largest marketplace enabling access to shop over 600 designer consignment boutiques online. While working with hundreds of the world’s best consignment boutiques, we discovered that our store partners were wasting a lot of time and energy sourcing inventory to grow their businesses. They needed a convenient way to source more top-selling products like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci, etc. from other trusted resale businesses. And that is how LePrix Wholesale was born.

In 2018, LePrix launched LePrix Wholesale, which is the only marketplace in the U.S. unlocking access to pre-owned, pre-authenticated luxury from the world’s most trusted suppliers at deeply discounted prices. Our team of experts carefully select suppliers, curate the most desirable inventory and inspect your orders before shipment. You will be assigned a dedicated account manager to help you optimize your wholesale buying experience. We believe in empowering businesses like yours with the right tools (access to top sellers, inventory you need, or valuable resources) and support to help you grow your business.

*LePrix is not affiliated with any brands in any manner. All items are LePrix Vetted and Approved: LePrix’s team of specialists inspect every item before it’s listed and sold on LePrix Wholesale.