The luxury brand that collaborated with Balenciaga in “The Hacker Project” (2021) was Gucci.
The project was a high-profile exercise in creative appropriation: Balenciaga reworked recognizable Gucci signatures, including the double-G monogram and equestrian-inspired visual language, within its own designs. Rather than presenting a conventional joint collection, the concept deliberately blurred the boundary between homage, imitation, and brand identity.
The title referred to the idea of “hacking” another fashion house’s codes. Gucci, in turn, was part of the same Kering luxury group as Balenciaga at the time, making the collaboration especially notable within the modern fashion industry. The project was unveiled as part of Balenciaga’s Spring 2022 collection.
A common mix-up is to treat the project as a partnership with Louis Vuitton or Prada, both major European luxury competitors. The defining pairing was Balenciaga and Gucci, not a three-way collaboration.