The S$965 rag and the cult of curated poverty

If you are a massive fan of Demna Gvasalia’s Balenciaga, this is your last chance to partake in the brand’s final fling with irony. At The Paragon Balenciaga store recently, we had the chance to see up-close this ‘ripped tank top’ from the autumn/winter 2025 collection that was very ripped, but was neither tank nor top. It was a former sleeveless T-shirt that triumphantly achieved peak distressed. There was barely any shoulder left. The garment practically hung from the ribbed crew neck, with an arm hole torn to expose a gaping hole than extended past the natural waist. From the rear, it was an extreme racer back, while in front, the convex curves on each side barely covered the nipples. It was the ultimate alibi of hardship.

Even for his final collection for Balenciaga, Mr Gvasalia did not stop his criticisms of consumerism—and now, specifically gym wear—while also profiting from it. This has been a paradox that’s has served him well in an otherwise placid luxury world. Despite the level of ripping that yielded a skeletal apron, the garment is still called a tank top, as if it was whole. The term originates from ‘tank suit’, the one-piece bathing suit worn in the ’20s. ‘Tank’ itself was the old word for swimming pool. The bathing suit worn in a tank was called a tank suit and its upper, sleeveless part was the inspiration for the garment we now call the tank top.

Mr Gvasalia, now at Gucci, often used fashion to challenge norms—what counts as clothing, what’s considered beautiful, or even what’s worth paying for. The labor involved is not in sewing a seam, but in calculating the exact trajectory of a tear so that the tank top hangs just so, as it did in the store window—dramatically, artfully, and uselessly. It’s less about wearability and more about making a statement, even if that statement is “look how ridiculous this is”. The much-feted irony is, this time, in the selling of something that looks destroyed for hundreds of dollars. If you’re thinking, “This doesn’t make sense as clothing,” you’re absolutely right. It’s not meant to be practical; it’s meant to provoke. Whether that is genius or nonsense, the best part is—you get to choose, the rips intact, either way.

Balenciaga ‘ripped tank top’, SGD965, is available at Balenciaga stores. Photos: Balenciaga