# The Balenciaga Revolution

[TOC]

:::warning

*On January 27th, we received an anonymous submission in our Nexus email with the title "Balenciaga Revolution" and a seemingly void body.*

*We lately discovered that there was an invisible text with an encrypted cipher hidden in plain sight. After some months, we cracked it with the key "hyperstition". Below you will find its contents:*

:::

**2023:** It started off as a Balenciaga catwalk. Redditors spread memes of the catwalk which go viral, generating a retail-side demand for the collection. Balenciaga launches a campaign and invests in R&D for cost-efficient mass production. Resellers further drive down the cost of owning a piece.

**2024:** An insider leaks that Balenciaga is conducting a round of large-scale product research and that military-grade protective gear is included as part of the choices in the surveys. Quickly, a group of 4channers organizes in order to troll the survey and bias it toward this option. The identities and intentions have never been made clear but some independent investigators conjecture that individuals have also been members of an anonymous DAO. Balenciaga chooses to respond to popular demand.

**2025:** The newly founded Balenciaga Labs, in a joint partnership with biomimetic materials science labs around the world, invests a first round of 5 million USD for basic research in adaptive ultra-lightweight bullet and shock-proof protective material. Later on, it experiments with launching full military-grade protective gear. Meanwhile, in December 2025, members of DarkFi launch an alpha of "The Agora", a new dark market operating on Nym's mixnet.

**2026:** Balenciaga hires a group of memetic engineers, including Youtuber Chris Gabriel, to work on a multimedia advertisement campaign to promote their mass-production campaign as providing citizens with the means for revolution against violence. The term Lunarpunk goes mainstream.

**2027**: A new type of material based on a synthetic mix of organic compounds is invented, passing stress tests with a 80x marginal improvement rate to basic kevlar and a 20x reduction in production costs. France, Japan, Nigeria and Brazil open up industrial cultivation centers reducing automation bottlenecks and labor through facilities for self-growing material. Balenciaga outsources production to these centers.

**2028:** Balenciaga launches the HaX0r outfit, a lightweight full-body kevlar outfit that gain traction amongst the youth and puts a limited number on auction. Martian TAO, an Urbit-based organization, pools funds to buy them and resells them on The Agora where a channels of crypto-anarchist in Venezuela use them to take down government officials and install a temporary anarcho-syndicalist confederation.

**2029:** After a lot of pressure from consumers Balenciaga produces the designs on a mass scale. Meanwhile local groups equipped with precosion nano-array 3d printers find a low-cost way to reproduce the bulletproof outfits locally and open-sources the blueprints on piracy channels in The Agora. Martian TAO buys 39% of Balenciaga's stock.

**2030:** Balenciaga attempts to crackdown the local piracy attempts and US intelligence intercepts the privacy channels. Martian TAO dumps all their shares causing a huge downturn which keeps on further driving down the price as panic sellers flee.

**2031:** Lunarwear, a decentralized streetwear production company operating on The Agora, develops their own protective gear and SwerveSoc, a fully anonymous guild of technicians raises a 10 million seed round to research cost-efficient 3D printing of 3D printing parts.

**2032:** the Venezuela incident inspires a global wave of cyber-physical revolts some of which lead to the capture of governments in Eastern Europe and Latin America. An anonymous inventor shares a 3d blueprint of a non-violent weapon which jams and intercepts channels of communication used by police and military and produces a sound wave causing temporary motor paralysis. While the blueprint was initially shared within a closed group of hackers, it eventually becomes open-sourced.

**2033:** Balenciaga goes bankrupt but its workers mobilize and turn it into a cyberphysical co-op, the biggest to exist as of yet. US riots ensue. The White House is captured by cryptoanarchists.

## GPT-4 Version

2023: The year begins with a Balenciaga fashion show that takes the internet by storm. Memes from the catwalk go viral on Reddit, generating retail demand for the collection. Balenciaga capitalizes on the interest by launching a campaign and investing in R&D for cost-efficient mass production. Resellers contribute to the affordability of the brand.

2024: A whistleblower reveals that Balenciaga is conducting large-scale product research, with military gear featuring prominently in their surveys. A group of anonymous 4chan users decides to skew the survey results toward military gear. Independent investigators suggest the group organized through an anonymous DAO. Balenciaga ultimately chooses to cater to the apparent popular demand.

2025: Balenciaga Labs is established in partnership with biomimetic materials science labs worldwide. They invest 5 million USD in researching adaptive, ultra-lightweight, bullet and shock-proof protective materials. Later in the year, they begin experimenting with full military-grade protective gear. Meanwhile, in December, DarkFi members launch "The Agora," a dark market operating on Nym's mixnet.

2026: Balenciaga hires a team of memetic engineers, including YouTuber Chris Gabriel, to create a multimedia advertisement campaign promoting their mass-production initiative as a means for revolution against violence. The term "Lunarpunk" enters the mainstream.

2027: A breakthrough in material science leads to a synthetic mix of organic compounds that surpasses basic Kevlar by 80 times and reduces production costs by 20 times. France, Japan, Nigeria, and Brazil establish industrial cultivation centers to streamline production. Balenciaga outsources production to these centers.

2028: Balenciaga's new designs become popular among young people, leading to a limited release. Martian TAO, an Urbit-based organization, buys the designs and resells them on The Agora. Crypto-anarchists in Venezuela use the protective gear to overthrow the government and establish a temporary anarcho-syndicalist confederation.

2029: Consumer demand prompts Balenciaga to mass-produce their designs. Local groups equipped with precision nano-array 3D printers find a low-cost way to reproduce the bulletproof outfits and share the blueprints on piracy channels in The Agora. Martian TAO acquires 39% of Balenciaga's stock.

2030: Balenciaga tries to crack down on local piracy efforts, but US intelligence intercepts the privacy channels. Martian TAO sells all their shares, causing a massive downturn in the market and further panic selling.

2031: Lunarwear, a decentralized streetwear production company operating on The Agora, develops its own protective patents. SwerveSoc, an anonymous guild of technicians, raises a 10 million seed round to research cost-efficient 3D printing of 3D printing components.

2032: The Venezuelan incident inspires a global wave of cyber-physical revolts, some of which lead to the capture of governments in Eastern Europe and Latin America. An anonymous inventor shares a 3D blueprint for a non-violent weapon that jams communication channels used by police and military and emits a sound wave that causes motor paralysis. Initially used in private channels, the design eventually becomes open-sourced.

2033: Balenciaga goes bankrupt, but its workers mobilize and transform the company into the largest cyberphysical co-op to date. Protests erupt across the US, culminating in the capture of the White House by crypto-anarchists.

## V2 Edits

**2023:**
- It all started from a Balenciaga catwalk during Octomber 2023. It was called "Against" and featured full black lightweight protective gear and tactical face coverings.
- The meme *"Balenciaga will come for you"* goes viral, generating a retail-side demand for the collection.

> [Add meme - Midjourney prompt: Slighly out of focus screengrab of a fashion model on a balenicaga catwalk wearing all-black light protective gear and a futuristic military-looking helmet with a balenicaga logo covering the whole face, the photo is only showing the part of the body above the waist and up front-facing and slightly rotated to the right by 30 degress --ar 3:2 --v5 ]
- Balenciaga launches a campaign and invests in R&D for cost-efficient mass production. Resellers further drive down the cost of owning a piece.

**2024:**
- An anonymous whistleblower leaks that Balenciaga is conducting a round of large-scale product research and that military-grade protective gear is included as part of the choices in the surveys. Quickly, a group of 4channers organizes in order to troll the survey and bias it toward this option. The identities and intentions have never been made clear but some independent investigators conjecture that individuals have also been members of an anonymous DAO with guerilla political nudging activities.
- Balenciaga chooses to respond to popular demand and posts a twit with a pilot of their new collection called which goes viral.

**2025:**
- Balenciaga Labs is established in partnership with biomimetic materials science labs worldwide. They invest 5 million USD in researching adaptive, ultra-lightweight, bullet and shock-proof protective materials. The details of their materials have been kept private but many have conjectured that they used thin layers of D3O. Later in the year, they begin experimenting with full military-grade protective gear.
- Meanwhile, in December, DarkFi members launch "The Agora," a dark market operating on Nym's mixnet.

**2026:**
- Balenciaga hires a team of memetic engineers, to create a multimedia advertisement campaign promoting their mass-production initiative as a means for revolution against violence.

**2027**:
- A new type of material based on a synthetic mix of organic compounds is invented, passing stress tests with a 80x marginal improvement rate to basic kevlar and a 20x reduction in production costs.
- France, Japan, South Africa and Brazil open up industrial cultivation centers reducing automation bottlenecks and labor through facilities for self-growing material. Balenciaga outsources production to these centers.

**2028:**
- Balenciaga launches the HaX0r outfit, a lightweight full-body kevlar gown that gains traction amongst the youth and puts a limited number on auction.
- Giga TAO, an Urbit-based organization, pools funds to buy them and resells them on *The Agora*.
- A big number of them is put on auction and revolutionaries in Venezuela use them to put pressure on the Venezuelan government and install a parrallel anarcho-syndicalist confederation across municipal regions.
- A federal lawsuit is sued against Balenciaga. Balenciaga is accused with the charges of a Terrorist Corporation, the second case in contemporary history after the indictment of Remilio.

**2029:**
- High demand pushes for Balenciaga to enter the mass-production streetwear market. Balenciaga responds that it will always stay commit to being a luxury brand and providing garments of the higher quality.
- Local groups equipped with precision nano-array 3D printers find a low-cost way to reproduce the bulletproof outfits by using mycelium-based adaptive biomatter and share the blueprints on piracy channels in The Agora. This creates para-economic competition that breaks Balenciaga's monopoly and opens up the market to a plurality of bottom-up brands that form collusions to drive Balenciaga out of the anonymous gear market.
- Giga TAO acquires 18% of Kerings's stock, Balenciagas parent company.

**2030:**
- Balenciaga tries to crack down on local piracy efforts with the help of US intelligence.
- Giga TAO sells all their shares, causing a massive downturn in the market and further panic selling.

**2031:**
- Lunarwear, a decentralized streetwear production company operating on The Agora, develops its own protective patents.
- SwerveSoc, an anonymous guild of technicians, raises a 6 million seed round to research cost-efficient 3D printing of 3D printing components.

**2032:**
- The Venezuelan incident inspires a global wave of cyber-physical revolts, some of which lead to the capture of governments in Eastern Europe and Latin America.
- An anonymous inventor shares a 3D blueprint for a non-violent weapon that jams communication channels used by police and military and emits a sound wave that causes motor paralysis. Initially used in private channels, the design eventually becomes open-sourced.

**2033:**
- Balenciaga goes bankrupt, but its workers mobilize and transform the company into the largest cyberphysical co-op to date.