Balenciaga’s sardonic style has made its way to Springfield, thanks to a frantic email sent out by Homer Simpson.
Attendants at the Spring/Summer 2022 unveiling were certainly anticipating to be surprised at the event held in Paris’ Theatre du Chatelet, but none of them could have fathomed being graced by a butt-baring prankster or for the star of the show to be a familiar face with tall blue hair.
However, things started to get weird when the lights dimmed and The Simpsons intro flashed before their eyes.
In the exclusive animation, Homer freaks out as he realizes it’s Marge’s birthday and he hasn’t gotten a present for her. Out of desperation, he emails Balenciaga for help, having seen a green Demna Gvasalia gown she’d been eyeing.
The dress proves to be too expensive for the family, and Marge sends it back with a heartfelt note. The gesture touches the designer, and he takes a private jet out to Springfield to invite its residents to model for the label’s Paris runway.
While the show starts out to a poor response, it is the seal of approval of Anna Wintour’s Simpson double that changes the crowd’s mind.
Luckily for guests at the actual fashion show, they got to see Chief Wiggum, Moe, Bart and Lisa, Smithers, and more Springfield locals walk down the runway in the latest Balenciaga pieces, which include oversize suits and gowns with dramatic shoulders.
Explaining howThe Simpsons collaboration happened, Gvasalia shared that he had reached out to the producers “because I’ve always loved The Simpsons for its whole tongue-in-cheek nature and the slightly romantic-naive side to it,” but did so without expecting for the request to turn into anything. “But in fact they [were interested],” he noted in a statement published byVogue magazIne. “They saw the blue show—the Parliament one—and liked it. Matt Groening’s been amazing.”