Balenciaga hosted its spring 2023 fashion show on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Sunday, in a symbolic move before the fashion house moves to start accepting certain cryptocurrencies as payment.
Models wearing face-obscuring latex masks and bodysuits walked around a dimly-lit NYSE trading floor as the screens that usually display market tickers glitched and flickered. The show debuted the closely held fashion house’s spring 2023 collection and a hotly-anticipated Adidas collaboration, which includes a $795 t-shirt with the NYSE logo on it.
Event invitations were printed on stacks of Balenciaga-branded $100 bills bearing a disclaimer that “This invitation is for personal use only and is not tender.” Celebrity guests included Kanye West, now known as Ye, as well as Alexa Demie, Megan Thee Stallion and New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
Balenciaga recently gained additional cultural popularity for frequently dressing Kim Kardashian and West. Kardashian famously wore a black bodystocking at the 2021 Met Gala, and West wore Balenciaga in promotion for his most recent album “Donda.”