Style
Balenciaga’s ‘The Simpsons’ collab turns Bart Simpson into a major hypebeast
No shorts to eat, though.
In a field full of obnoxious images, some of the most objectionable in streetwear have involved Bart Simpson. The perpetually young hellraiser has been PhotoShopped countless times wearing, like, a full Supreme fit along with an appropriative hairdo. These bootleg graphics have even made their way to T-shirts, proving nothing is sacred when it comes to hype.
For better or worse, the spirit of such abominations has now gone luxury. After turning to the iconic series to debut its SS21 collection, Balenciaga has capitalized on the momentum with an official The Simpsons capsule. Appearing on each item is an image of the entire family decked out in the fashion house’s futuristic punk attire, including Homer Simpson in the very same spiked jacket that Kanye West made famous this summer.
The now-fashionable Simpsons family appears across hoodies, T-shirts, and accessories beginning at $260 and topping out at $2,450 for a hybrid hoodie-bomber jacket. It’s too late to debate whether or not such attire should exist, and now we’re left to wonder who exactly will be buying.
Fashion already loves The Simpsons — Virgil Abloh beat Balenciaga designer Demna Gvasalia to the punch by two years, as Off-White introduced a Simpsons capsule in 2019. Instead of dressing up the Simpsons in fashionable attire, Abloh invoked the series’ iconic T-shirts from the ‘80s and ‘90s, including one rendering Bart in luxe embroidery.
Why anyone would buy a $300 Off-White x The Simpsons T-shirt when authentic vintage tees are right there for the picking (and for considerably less) remains a mystery, but credit goes to Abloh for launching a precision missile of nostalgia. Adidas has also spent the past year channeling some of The Simpsons’ most iconic episodes for sneakers with mixed results, the most recent of which was an excellent, understated homage to Ned Flanders.
If you want Balenciaga’s take on the franchise, you can head to its website right now. But your time and money may be better served firing up a rewatch on Disney+ and digging for vintage Simpsons merch on eBay.