Bally SS23 heralds a new era for the Swiss luxury fashion house. Marking its return to the runway after over two decades, Bally SS23 is the first collection designed by new creative director Rhuigi Villaseñor. Villaseñor founded Los Angeles luxury streetwear brand Rhude in 2015 following his arrival from the Philippines, with the brand becoming known for its interpretations of Americana through an outsider’s lens. Earlier this year, Villaseñor was appointed creative director of Bally.
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Bally SS23 sees Villaseñor shake up the 171-year-old fashion house, exploring European notions of luxury through a distinctly American lens. Bally’s signature Swiss leather craftsmanship is applied to bold and eclectic pieces that usher in a new sensual and glamorous sensibility for the fashion house. Bally’s almost seasonless approach is shirked in favour of a collection that is rooted in time; nods to the worlds of sports and cinema appear throughout the collection, evoking a sense of nostalgia while being grounded in the present.
“In fashion as in our daily lives, beauty is always linked to a sense of place and identity: Ideas and gestures we can understand and connect with on a personal level,” says Rhuigi Villaseñor. “When I discovered the Bally universe, it was clear to me that my energy and my point of view would be the catalyst for a renaissance, two decades since the last Bally runway show. Placing Swiss craft and European art of living in harmony with my own American story, I’ve called this collection ECDYSIS — a reset and a celebration of radical luxury.”
Rich materiality takes place in Bally SS23, with tiger print suiting rendered in silk velvet, double-breasted tailoring in summer wools, and shantung silk pyjamas combining elegant femininity with masculine insouciance. Crafted in Los Angeles, engineered denim is interpreted in leather, from butter-soft suede to polished calfskin, stretch nappa, and opulent metallics.
Placing leather craftsmanship centre stage, Bally SS23 references the Swiss traditions of watchmaking and toy-making in the form of chains and chokers, buckles, and bag hardware. A new emblem created by Villaseñor takes on a stylised figure-8 of interlocking Bs, inspired by the Bally tradition of elastic making. The emblem appears throughout the collection, making its way onto the hardware and geometric chains that adorn frame bags, soft pouches, and hobo bags.
The footwear follows the transatlantic spirit of the collection, with sculpted sandal heels and crystal mesh boots appearing alongside embellished house slippers and archival Mary Janes with a Cuban heel. An ongoing dialogue between the west and the world, and between old and new.
Words by Esmé Duggan
