Wednesday, July 7, 2021, in the historic salons of Balenciaga avenue George V, Demna presents her first haute couture collection for the house, in front of a prestigious audience that includes rapper Kanye West, racing driver Lewis Hamilton and supermodel Bella Hadid. At the end of the parade, as a crowd rushes to congratulate the Georgian designer, he enthusiastically greets one of these guests, Aya Nakamura, as shown Loïc Prigent’s video : “Delighted, I am delighted to meet you. I’m happy because I love your music. We listened to it a lot to inspire us.” An unexpected admission from Demna, given his musical tastes which he revealed in 2020 on une playlist Apple Music. We now know that alongside Marilyn Manson, Sade, Kanye West, Grace Jones and Radio Head, the most listened to French singer in the world occupies a special place.
Since then, the relationship between the two artists has only intensified. After attending the fall-winter 2022-2023 fashion show from Balenciaga a few days ago, Aya Nakamura was spotted on March 15, 2022 leaving the boutique on Avenue Montaigne. In the photos, she appears wearing a black hoodie and t-shirt as well as a silver leather Hourglass bag with an autograph that are part of her merch collection for the house, announcing by the same occasion the launch of an exclusive playlist available today.
Before Aya Nakamura, Balenciaga has already distinguished itself with two collaborations of its kind in 2021. The premiere with German metal band Rammstein then with the iconic drag queen and house music producer Ru Paul. In August of the same year, Demna also signed the merch for Kanye West’s new album, Donda, then announced a triple collaboration with Gap and Yeezythe rapper’s label, whose first drop – entirely black – is available online.
The Aya Nakamura Merch collection by Balenciaga is available in boutiques and on balenciaga.com. Aya Nakamura’s playlist is available on Apple Music.
