Balenciaga Sends Out Smashed iPhones As Invitations To Fashion Show
Photo 101894474 © Ivana Stanic | Dreamstime.com
Don’t know what to do with your old smartphones? Balenciaga has stumbled upon an upcycling project of its own—it’s turned old iPhones into invites for its Fall/Winter 2022 show on March 6.
Engraved onto broken, defunct iPhone 6s models shipped to invitees are the brand’s logo, guest’s name, and the event’s venue, date, and time. The unusual canvas looks to be a hint at the fashion show’s virtual element, according to Highsnobiety.
The package arrives with a dystopian note describing the iPhone as “a genuine artifact from the year 2022,” and disclaims that the gadget is “nonfunctional and to be used for display purposes only.”
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“This document certifies that this device is, to the best of our knowledge, not artificially manufactured but made from years of use and later, neglect,” the invite adds.
Balenciaga's Fall/Winter 2022 invitations are broken iPhone 6S with laser engraved logo pic.twitter.com/bZK9cpzvBf
— Fashion Drops (@fashionsdrops) March 2, 2022
The runway event also almost coincides with Apple’s upcoming product launch, which is scheduled just two days after.
The iPhone 6s is well on its way to becoming a certified “vintage” item in Apple’s books, as just last month, its predecessor iPhone 6 Plus was listed as one.
The tech giant began phasing out the home button for the notch in 2017, when it released the radical iPhone X. Today, its only new smartphone with the button is the more affordable iPhone SE.
Despite the metallic invites being unusable, it’s worth betting that guests will hold on to them as keepsakes, given the new value assigned to them by Balenciaga.
Those who didn’t get their new/old iPhone 6s delivered to them by the fashion house can still attend the Fall/Winter 2022 event virtually, which will be livestreamed in 360 degrees via the video below at 11:30 am CET (2:30 am PT or 5:30 am ET).
[via Highsnobiety and LADbible, images via various sources]
