Balenciaga launches a special project around Angelo Badalamenti

Balenciaga is continuing its foray into the world of music. Following its collaboration last November with the British group Archive, the Kering label has announced a project based around Angelo Badalamenti, a tribute to the famous American composer who died on 11 December 2022. The collab’ includes a capsule collection, a playlist and a photo campaign, as well as a partnership with the Manhattan School of Music.

“The project began in May 2020, before Badalamenti’s death, and is unveiled in his honour in partnership with the Manhattan School of Music, the school where he studied, and his daughter, Danielle Badalamenti,” says a statement from the house helmed in style by Demna, whose real name is Demna Gvasalia.
 
In partnership with the New York music school where the composer and arranger trained and graduated, and with the head of the composition department Reiko Fueting, the Parisian label has announced the creation of a master class that it is sponsoring and that will be offered free of charge to students enrolled at the Manhattan School of Music.

This partnership is part of the “Balenciaga Music” initiative launched in 2020, which enables the brand’s customers to discover the musical universe that inspires the creation of its collections, giving them access, among other things, to playlists compiled under the aegis of Demna and various artists. The offer is now completed by a playlist selected by Angelo Badalamenti containing a compilation of his own works, available on the website of the luxury house owned by Kering.
 
This is also an opportunity for the label to market a limited-edition capsule collection of T-shirts and turtleneck sweatshirts featuring the handwritten score of “Torch Them”, which the musician composed for the opening ceremony of the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
 
“A dedicated campaign, photographed and filmed in New York at the Manhattan School of Music, features students from the school and members of Angelo Badalamenti’s family wearing the creations,” says the label.