Balenciaga SS17 Shrunken Double-Breasted Blazer Balenciaga

Black Wool

This blazer is from Pre-fall 2017 but is a new material iteration of the iconic “Shrunken” tailoring from Demna’s debut menswear season (SS17) at Balenciaga. The season centered around proportion, the wildly oversize and the wildly tiny. Press attributes this to an interrogation of “fit,” and establishing new standards and boundaries for what it could be—a Demna “irony” could definitely be read as what would be considered ill-fitting suiting by traditional standards bore the measurement cards of bespoke tailoring. Beyond this, we see these suits also as exploring fashion and clothing’s role in letting a wearer inhabit other personas, to don something that really brings you into another reality using the construction and resulting visual/sensorial quality of the clothing. How does it feel to be hugged and pulled inwards by a too-skinny suit jacket, how does it feel to take up the space you do with a dramatically square shoulder (see also: steroid tailoring from FW20 lending you the broad-shouldered, thick-armed physique of a bodybuilder).

Here, in the shrunken double breasted suit jacket, the armholes are forcibly shifted forward, with most of the padding sitting along the front, sculpting a pulled in, almost hunched shape. A slight pagoda curve upwards at the shoulders frames the slim sleeves that inevitably show the wearer’s shoulder cap. The body is aggressively anatomically shaped, with a nipped waist and multiple darts creating an hourglass shape around the hips, a shape expounded upon at length in future seasons (AW17 Horse Riding Jacket, AW18 3D Moulded Hourglass Jackets). 

The quality found in these SS17/Pre-Fall ’17 suit jackets matched a couture/bespoke tailoring standard, with hand-stitched lining and armholes. The detailing is impeccable as well, with hidden placket closures at the front and cuff closures that feature trompe l’oeil buttonholes stitched atop the real, covered ones. This jacket in particular is cut in a rare technical wool/poly/elastane blend gabardine. It has a thick, plush, substantial hand and drapes beautifully with a slight technical bounce to it. 

Made in Italy
9.5/10 Condition, with no rips, stains, or tears. New without tags condition.

Fit Notes:
Tagged a size 50, cut with an intentionally slim/shrunken fit. Can suit sizes small through large based on desired fit. A small could wear this with a more standard fit, a medium with a slim fit, or a slim large with the most pronounced shrunken effect. Cut slim through the arms. 

Measurements:
Shoulder: 16.5″ (15″ where the forward-shift shoulder seam sits)
Chest: 20″
Length: 28.5″
Sleeve Length: 26.75″