This Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2010 hooded dress reflects Nicolas Ghesquière’s move away from cocktail dressing and toward a distinctly urban, athletic vocabulary. For the season, he reworked familiar streetwear references — hoodies, tanks, skinny jeans and sporty separates—through the house’s highly technical approach to construction and material.
Nothing was quite what it first appeared to be: denim became vegetable-dyed leather, while hooded pieces combined molded leather, woven jersey and nylon foam. Throughout the collection, athletic influences were elevated through intricate craftsmanship, experimental textiles and futuristic techniques, creating a vision of streetwear that felt both practical and almost impossible to replicate. This dress captures that balance perfectly, with its elongated silhouette, hood and striped side detailing giving a sporty idea a distinctly Balenciaga treatment.