The term “out of the mud” comes from hip-hop and means achieving social mobility. It is achieving greatness. He is someone who came out “of the mud” and succeeded in life.
Kevin Gaites, Lil Baby and Future all referenced the term. On Kanye ‘Ye’ West’s album Donda, the featured artists referenced it twice on the tracks ‘Jonah’ and ‘OK Okay’.
He was thinking about this while he was going to the Balenciaga ‘Mud Show’ for spring/summer 2023. Not only for the rumor that Ye would walk in the show, but because the show literally made use of the mud thing.
The air had metallic earth smell. Muddy mountains surrounded the seating area and created a large splashing pit in the middle where the fashion show would (apparently) take place. You didn’t just see mud. You immersed yourself.
I can’t understand how they transported all this mud. How could they clean it up afterwards? He boggles the mind.
Mud and style
Sure enough, as a punchy, dissonant BFRND-designed hip-hop soundtrack blared through the speakers, Ye burst out of the backstage area in a fast-paced (and surprisingly good) model walk, tearing down the catwalk like a man on a mission.
Dressed in a hooded sweatshirt and a boxy jacket with multiple pockets that had a shape that was both futuristic and utilitarian. The look instantly reminded me of Tesla’s ‘Cybertruck’ in all its gigantic glory. Later, Ye took to Instagram and posted his first walk in Balenciaga with the simple caption: “WAR.”
Demna stated in his program notes: “Individualism in fashion is reduced to pseudotrends dictated by a publication in the stories of some celebrities of the moment.” Ironically and unsurprisingly, the Ye moment instantly went viral on social media.
The theme of the program was the rejection of the widespread desire to package everything in a neat little box with a convenient little label. “Putting luxury fashion in the box of refined, exclusive and visually expensive is limited and quite old school,” Demna wrote in his manifesto-like notes. “The setting of this show is a metaphor for seeking the truth and keeping your feet on the ground,” I concluded.
Mud fashion show
What transpired at the show was more of what we expected from Balenciaga: oversized hoodies, baggy suits, asymmetrical caped dresses, and matching sweatshirt sets scrawled with graffiti. But the triumph of the collection was in its individualizing details. Backstage, the great metamorphosis artist Alexis Stone outfitted the models with elaborate facial piercings and prosthetic horns. Some had their hair spread across their scalps in rivulets or sported grills with the words Balenciaga, while others wore colored contact lenses with star-shaped pupils. The beauty looks were fake and featured bruised eyes and bloody cheeks. She felt like an underground-rave-bunker-in-90s-Belgium.
Demna also put an individualistic spin on the accessories, showing off bags with literal tunnels in the armholes, as the model walked the runway with her entire arm buried in the bag’s pockets. It’s not a bag, it’s an arm bag. The most surprising accessories, however, were open bags of Lays x Balenciaga chips (Is there a new collaboration on the horizon? If so, what flavor will they be?) that the models were carrying. Last season, Demna carried a bag of chips backstage. Others carried front-facing carriers with fake babies. The footwear came in the form of sleek black patent leather clogs, cobalt blue glitter clogs, strappy heels, and platform boots. From an avalanche of streetwear, in the end emerged a gorgeous selection of bright dresses, contrasting beautifully with all the mud and dirt.
Balenciaga saved the best for last. The final look was a leather dress made entirely from Frankenstein ‘City’ bags, arranged in a tapestry of stitches, tassels and bag handles. It was worn by a model who walked eerily down the catwalk with her shoulders hunched, looking to everyone like
