Celebrities Flock to Balenciaga Show, Which Turned an L.A. Residential Street Into a Runway

If you’re wondering where the A-list celebrity crowd was yesterday—Kim Kardashian! Kendall Jenner! Salma Hayek! Nicole Kidman!—they were in L.A. for the debut of Balenciaga’s Fall 2024 collection, where the brand’s creative designer Demna took on L.A.’s fashion codes, ranging from activewear to grunge to evening wear.

Other boldfaced names in attendance included Eva Longoria, Tracee Ellis Ross, Teyana Taylor, Lil Wayne, Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz, Zooey Deschanel, and Ashley Graham—but the standout among standouts was Cardi B, who made a surprise appearance on the runway, modeling a furry cobalt blue floor-length coat with black Knife boots in her runway debut. The rapper name-checks Balenciaga in her song “I Like It” and became a face of the brand in 2020; after the show—Balenciaga’s debut show in L.A.—Cardi B hosted a late-night after-party. Brigitte Nielsen also unexpectedly hit the runway, though this was decidedly not her catwalk debut. (Nielsen has modeled since the early 1980s.)

Balenciaga worked with Jacob Co. on a jewelry collaboration, and, interestingly, also teamed up with organic retailer Erewhon for limited-release totes and clothing, People reports.

It’s a strong show of support for Demna and Balenciaga following the house’s 2022 “Gift Collection” campaign, which supported Balenciaga’s Spring/Summer 2023 collection. One ad featured children holding teddy bears in leather bondage gear; another ad was office-themed and involved a reference to a Supreme Court case on child pornography.

Kardashian was named a Balenciaga ambassador in February 2022 and went edgy for yesterday’s show, wearing nude pantaleggings layered with black lace, a nude high-neck top, and a black Balenciaga logo jacket. Her younger sister Jenner wore a black sleeveless Balenciaga gown with a sweeping black cape. Hayek wore a black ruched dress, neon pink Knife court heels, and a Balenciaga Hourglass bag, and the brand’s new ambassador Kidman wore a black fitted dress with double-breasted fastenings at the front, black gloves, sheer black tights, and black Knife court heels.

“Balenciaga has been with me through some of the most memorable events in my life, from my wedding to the Oscars red carpet,” Kidman said in a statement on her new ambassadorship. As referenced, Kidman wore Balenciaga when she married husband Keith Urban in 2006, a custom-made look by the brand’s then-creative director Nicholas Ghesquiere.

The show took place on a mansion-lined street with a direct view of the Hollywood sign, The Hollywood Reporter writes. The exact location of the neighborhood turned runway is in the upscale Hancock Park neighborhood, and Variety adds that residents on the block were paid $1,000 per house for the inconvenience.

“The collection was amazing,” Kardashian said. And, as someone who would know, she gave the ultimate stamp of approval: “It was very, very L.A.”