Lorde’s Love Affair With Duct Tape Continues at the Balenciaga Show

Lorde is on the couture circuit, attending the Chanel show on Tuesday and Demna’s swan song for Balenciaga the following day. But while she embraced a downright proper look for Chanel, the singer returned to her edgy ways for Balenciaga.
The New Zealander arrived to Kering’s headquarters in Paris in a sleeveless crystal dress, jeans, and a pair of black heels. The silver topper was extremely see-through, so Lorde opted to cover up, using two pieces of black tape as pasties.
Any fan of Lorde and her recent album Virgin likely saw this look and immediately thought of one of the singles off the album, “Man of the Year.” In the imagery for the song—as well as in the music video—Lorde wears silver duct tape across her chest.
Lorde seems to be especially enamored with the duct tape effect lately. At the Met Gala this year, the top of the singer’s Thom Browne look also resembled a duct-taped chest, a bit of a style easter egg for her “MOTY” music video.
Lorde in Thom Browne at the 2025 Met Gala.
Wednesday marked Lorde’s first time attending a Balenciaga show. The singer told Interview she’s a “lifelong” Demna fan. Of course, the couture presentation was Lorde’s last opportunity to see the designer work with Balenciaga. Now that Demna has presented his final collection for the brand, he’s moving on to Gucci as the artistic director, while Pierpaolo Piccioli will take over at Balenciaga.
When asked about the character she most related to from Wednesday’s presentation, Lorde expressed her interest in what she referred to as “the security guard,” a buff model in a single-breasted suit jacket and trousers wearing a pair of sunglasses. So, if you see Lorde in this look during her next red carpet appearance, don’t be too surprised.
Look 22 from Balenciaga’s fall 2025 couture show.