Or are these Balenciaga snap clips simply overpriced?

Balenciaga products can be frighteningly expensive. Even for the most ordinary of things, such as this pair of hair clips. They are priced at S$525 a pair. If your budget is a little tight, you can go for the black pair at S$450, or S$250 a piece. They are made in Italy of steel, not titanium. Are they more superior than those produced in China and can be purchased at general stores, even if they are rather hard to come by now? Balenciaga’s version is, as we can see, no different from the snap clip that has been used for as long as any of us can remember. When we shared the image of these with a hairstylist, who works with celebrities for the media, and told her the price, she replied: “You want? I have them in my bag and I can give them to you. No charge!”

These snap or contour clips—you can use the fancier term, snap barrette—always remind us of school girls of long-gone past. Many needed these 按扣发夹 (ankou fajia) or snap clips to keep their hair in place during an era when a neat turn-out is necessary in the classroom. They became fashionable in the ’90s, when women reclaimed girlishness as a way to look cool. And then the American singer Solange Knowles (yes, Beyoncé’s younger sister) wore a row of them (five in all) to hold up her side-combed fringe at the CFDA awards in 2016. We don’t remember if snap clips became a thing as a result. And now, almost ten years later, Balenciaga offers their pricey take, enhanced with brand logo and name at the top.

Before the recently shown Balenciaga bag could stir controversy, the brand’s hair accessories are getting people’s locks in a knot. In China, Netizens were quite outraged, with one noting that with the price Balenciaga charges for the snap clip, one “could buy 2,700” pieces on Taobao. By now, we know that Mr Gvasalia loves taking everyday objects, including those found in hardware stores or tourist gift shops and turning them (without transforming them) into luxury objects. In doing so, he shows his flair at slapping the Balenciaga logo on anything with the real estate to sport it. Observers say that this is to generate buzz. Perhaps. But when luxury fashion do not offer value for trend-seeking consumers, the best way to augment sales is to sell miscellany that cost a fraction of what it is needed to buy a dress or bag.

Photo: Balenciaga