Carnivalesque Practices and Cyborg Esthetics: A Study of the Grotesque of Demna

Abstract Since the first appearance with his brand Vetements at the Paris Fashion Week in 2014 and his successive takeover of the French maison Balenciaga in 2015, designer Demna has represented a controversial figure in the industry, capable of merging stereotypically luxurious pieces with direct references to pop culture and politics. This article analyses the imagery and the communication strategies of his two brands by providing a revised reading of the grotesque theory to fit the contemporary climate. Previously associated with a regenerative power capable of contrasting the status quo, the grotesque returns in the new millennium shrouded in an aura of gloom. Demna intercepts the anxiety that arises from the environmental crises, our poorly regulated relationship with technology and social media, and the rightward populist drift that has been spreading in Europe and USA, and distills it in his collections, fashion shows and campaigns. In order to explore the dark, thickly encoded work of the designer, the theoretical framework of this article combines a rigorous account of the grotesque canon to postmodernist theory, for their shared interest for low and popular culture as the unofficial voice that mocks and undermines power structures.