Balenciaga’s Paris Fashion Week invites have left social media users scratching their heads.
The luxury fashion brand ditched the more traditional paper invites - or an eco-friendly digital version - and instead went with a smashed up iPhone with the event details engraved on the back. Fair enough.
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The French label said the iPhone was a ‘genuine artefact from the year 2022' - meaning it and its accompanying damage is real - but that it’s not functioning and is for ‘display purposes only'.
And, I mean, who could possible resist displaying an iPhone with a cracked screen, eh?
A card sent out with the smashed up phone reads: “Please find personalized information on the back of this phone. This is a genuine artefact from the year 2022.
“It is nonfunctional and to be used for display purposes only. This document certifies that this device is, to the best of our knowledge, not artificially manufactured but made from years of use and later, neglect.”
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While on the back of the phones there were details for Balenciaga’s Fall/Winter 2022 show which takes place on Sunday 6 March at 11.30am - if you’re interested.
The quirky choice of invite has not been a hit with everyone, though, with some folks taking to social media to brand the move ‘tacky’ and dated.
One person wrote: “Balenciaga iPhone invite is so f***ing lame. y’all like the dumbest s***."
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Another commented: “Balenciaga, baby, you're a few years too late... Tumblr iPhone-mania ended in 2015, I'm sorry.”
A third person said: “Nah, I don't vibe with the old iPhone Balenciaga invitations. Tacky.”
Another said: “A cracked old iPhone being as an invitation for Balenciaga is considered luxury now?”
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However, others seemed to quite like the off-the-wall idea.
One wrote: “These old iPhone Balenciaga invites are pretty cool. I like it."
While another said: “Balenciaga sent out invited to its upcoming show. The invite was a broken iPhone 6s with Balenciaga details in laser prints on the back. Wow.”
A third commented: "A personalised iPhone for a Balenciaga Show? Crazy how far you can take this s***, the funds be speaking the lingo!"
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If you didn’t find a smashed up iPhone waiting for you on your doormat this morning, then fear not because the Balenciaga show will be streaming from its website live this Sunday.
Claire Reid