Right when we need to dip our toes in the ocean or sip a €2.50 jug of sangria in the sun the most, ongoing COVID restrictions have seen plans for holidays go up in smoke – but that doesn’t mean we can’t dream about the moment we jump on a flight and head off to some gorj new city or beachside when things get back to ‘normal’. 

Doing exactly that this season is Demna Gvasalia, who took us on a whistlestop tour of the world to debut his Pre-Fall 21 collection for Balenciaga – via some very canny Photoshop skills. Landing in fashion capitals Paris, Milan, London, and New York, models also ‘showed up’ in further-flung destinations including Egypt, India, and on top of the Great Wall of China – all head to toe in Balenciaga classics, obvs.

On the line-up for the new season was more of the designer’s supersized tailoring, XXL outerwear, 90s trackies, and big, bolshy, bootleg logo-play. In this instance, too-big hoodies and tees are emblazoned with a riff that turns GAP’s signature emblem into ‘GAY Pride’.

“I’m gay. I grew up in a society where I couldn’t have worn that, and there are places in the world you cannot today,” he told Vogue. “It’s important to push through against homophobia. I’m not someone who goes out in the street and shouts. But this is the political fashion activism I can do.” 

Notably, the Pre-Fall collection also cranks up Gvasalia’s efforts to make Balenciaga a more eco-conscious fashion house – 90.6 per cent of the fabrics used within the offering are either recycled or sourced from sustainable means. 

Check the collection out in the gallery above, and watch the cutesy accompanying ‘feel good’ video that confirms Demna is as much of a live laugh loving Insta-basic bitch as the rest of us below.