Balenciaga has come up with part two of its long-awaited Hacker series, in collaboration with Saks Fifth Avenue. In select US cities, Saks is acting as the exclusive wholesale partner for the luxury fashion brand, launching a series of pop-up Hacker stores inside their city showrooms.

The Collaboration

The locations of the Balenciaga Hacker pop-ups are inside the Saks stores of Houston, New York, Troy, and Atlanta. These collaborative project pop-ups will be live on the main floor in Saks’ Houston and New York locations till December 15. Saks’ Troy and Atlanta locations will house the stores from December 15, 2021 – January 15, 2022. The pop-ups will offer the customers a limited-time exclusive collection of designer ready-to-wear, accessories, and handbags, for both men and women.

The Hacker Project

This project is a collaborative venture by two leading fashion houses of Balenciaga and Gucci, introducing cross-branded merchandise. The line was introduced during the houses’ spring 2022 collection shows, with part one of the project. Part one consisted of the Gucci series, and its merchandise featuring the Balenciaga signature. This time, the Balenciaga series has come up with combining Gucci codes. Across the collection, Gucci’s signature logo patterns, luggage details, and enduring colorways are used with recognizable Balenciaga styling and structures.

The Creative Spin

Balenciaga’s Creative Director Demna Gvasalia mainly took Gucci’s iconic GG monogram canvas and transformed it with BB logos for this collaborative Hacker Project. This new logo appears on a range of Gucci-style near-ringer bags. Paying homage to René Magritte, Gvasalia added a humorous touch by spray-painting “This is Not a Gucci Bag” on the largest Hacker Graffiti tote bag. There are also medium tote bags, BB puffer, Graffiti medium duffle bag, caps, small leather goods, scarves, and BB-buckled large belts, available at Saks stores as part of the Hacker series.

Met Gala 2021 saw some fascinating looks – from Kim Kardashian’s faceless blackbody suit to A$AP Rocky’s giant colorful plush quilt. These few looks have managed to take everyone by surprise. Even when it comes to accessories, there were some really bold looks flaunted by many celebrities. What was once thought to be an overthrow of the dress code has now turned into omnipresent red carpet accessories. Stars are playing around with the theme and giving everything their own spin. The case in point is Timothee Chalamet’s outfit, who paired his Hairder Achermann getup with a pair of sweats from Chuck Taylors. For some reason, all these alternative black tie accessories hit right at home.

Met Gala Accessories 2021

This year’s Met Gala further pushed the envelope with many unexpected accessories. Stars showed up on the red carpet flaunting era-inspired outfits. There were stylish ensembles with hidden meaning and subtle nods to pop-culture icons past, but a handful of handbags, shoes, hats, and more stole the show entirely.

The Met Gala theme this year, ‘In America: A Lexicon of Fashion,’ witnessed many unique accessories. What came as a welcome surprise was the fact that the most fabulous accessories came from up-and-coming brands.

Some Unique Accessories That Stole the Show

Maisie Williams and Dev Hynes, and more opted for emerging accessory designers. Hynes paired his red striped brown suit with a lunch bag look-alike tote from the Italian twin sisters led brand Medea. Williams was seen donning a pair of funky slingback from Nodaleto, a footwear label that debuted at Paris Fashion Week in the fall of 2019.

Frank Ocean and Justin Bieber flaunted accessories from their own newly rolled out labels. While Frank Ocean donned a necklace from Homer and a robot-like baby doll, Bieber showcased a bag from Drew. Hunter Schafer took the carpet by surprise when she arrived with a spider on her face. She also wore foggy contact lenses to blur out her eyes.