New, innovative, and stylish. All words that can describe the Balenciaga house of fashion. From pimped out dad shoes to oversized puffy jackets, Balenciaga has been one of the biggest influencers of the most popular trends today. An apparently, that doesn’t just stop with clothing.
For starters, creative director for the notorious fashion house, Demna Gvasalia, made headlines in early March for sending down both men and women in Balenciaga’s Fall 2018 RTW (ready-to-wear), something which had never been done before. On top of this rule-breaking bender, Gvasalia also decided to veer away from the standard fitting protocols and decided to embrace the technology of 2018.
3D scans were taken of each model, then printed molds of the bodies were made. And I must say, the precision and the angles of the clothing to the bodies was impeccable. Balenciaga’s Fall RTW was filled with blazers, trousers, and dresses, all of which are notorious for tricky fittings and trying to get the fabric to lay just right.
Speaking of fashion-forward, Balenciaga also has another technology trick up their sleeve.
One of the perfectly-fitted outfits that appeared down the runway was that of a button-down shirt and some slacks. But, of course, they weren’t just your average workday getup, it had a number plastered across the front: +33 1.56.52.87.99.
This number, when called, transfers you to a Balenciaga hotline where you’ll receive a series of “confidential” answers. The reason I say “confidential” is because through your name may not be attached to your answers, they will be used for market research. Clever, Balenciaga.
During the phone call, you may receive questions like how old you are, where you’re from, what language you speak, if you wear glasses, if you have a pet, hat the highest level of education you’ve received, etc. All of these are demographic and psychographic research questions that can ultimately help Balenciaga pinpoint buying methods of their consumers – all through a seemingly fun and free phone call.
Even though Balenciaga is the first to plaster a market research hotline number on their runway shirts, they aren’t the very first to try and get market research data through nontraditional channels. Many retailers will ask you to fill out an online survey, but stores like J.Crew have started to use polling on Instagram to provide consumers the chance to help pick new products. Gucci also is said to have a “millennial shadow committee” that advises their team on what is new and trending in youth culture.
So if you’re looking to kill some time, and maybe even a good time, call Balenciaga.