Gucci & Balenciaga’s Hacker Project Is Here
This story was updated on November 12
Gucci x Balenciaga's collaboration — sorry, "hack" — might have felt like a fever dream at first, but the anticipated "Gucciaga" collection is finally here.
Arriving from the Gucci Aria collection, the range is produced by Gucci, where Alessandro Michele "Hacked" some of Demna Gvasalia's Balenciaga House codes.
Officially named The Hacker Project, the co-branded range will drop at 74 pop-up stores worldwide on November 15 — in the US, locations include New York City, Miami, Beverly Hills, and Chicago.
The pop-ups will offer ready-to-wear, shoes (including new takes on Balenciaga's Triple S), and accessories, though the collection's bags are the surefire highlight of the range. Signature silhouettes including Gucci's Jackie and Balenciaga's City are remixed in a mash-up of monograms and prints.
Looking at the collection almost feels wrong. We're so used to associating a signature silhouette with a recognizable monogram, so when the two get mixed up, so do our brains. (I guess our minds are also part of the great "hack.")
The whole partnership is a nod to counterfeit culture, as well as branding and logomania, and seems to have catalyzed a handful of other surprising collaborations in the luxury sphere, including Fendi and Versace's "Fendace" and Fendi x SKIMS.
Adding another layer to the drop, select pop-ups will offer customization services. Those who purchase double-B monogram bags can get them personalized with text reading "THIS IS [insert name]'s BAG."
The Hacker Project Pop-Up Locations
New York’s Meatpacking District, 446 West 14th Street
Miami Design District Paradise Plaza, 151 NE 41st Street 3rd Floor
Holt Renfrew Yorkdale,3401 Dufferin Street
New York Fifth Avenue, 725 Fifth Avenue
New York Wooster Street, 63 Wooster Street
Gucci Beverly Hills,347 N Rodeo Drive
Gucci Chicago,900 North Michigan Avenue
Costa Mesa South Coast Plaza, 3333 South Bristol Street
