Don't discount the genius of balenciaga's new hotline

To make its Fall 2018 blazers with exaggerated basques and curves, Balenciaga took 3-D scans of models’ bodies and did the “fittings” on a computer.

But Balenciaga will not only scan your body—it will also scan your mind. Printed on the front of two button-down shirts in today’s lineup was a phone number—+33.1.56.52.87.99—that, when called, transfers you to a Balenciaga hotline.

A monotone woman’s voice answers, and ensures that any information given is “strictly confidential.” From there, she asks a number of questions that can be answered using your phone’s keypad. How old are you? What language do you speak? What’s the highest level of education you’ve obtained? But also, which color do you prefer most? Do you wear prescription glasses? Do you have a pet? If you make it to the end of the surgery—I must have answered something wrong because mid-call I was told, “Your call cannot be transferred; please try again later”—the woman’s voice will tell you that all the information will be deleted.

But will it, actually? Under the guise of a fun hotline, Balenciaga is actually conducting free market research. Some of the questions about a preference for salty or sweet foods might seem irrelevant, but even the seemingly silly ones have a point.

“Do you have a pet?” provides data on if the Balenciaga fan would ditch his or her Petements hoodies for a Balenciaga one.

“Do you wear prescription glasses?” provides insight into the optical market (at the moment, Balenciaga only offers a small selection of fashion sunglasses). A question about vacation spots could lead to future store locations; one about favorite colors could become an accessories range . . . and so on, and so on, and so on.

It might seem sinister to accuse Balenciaga of mining us for our data via a cleverly distributed 

phone number, but it’s not that different from what every other major fashion brand is doing. Just about every retailer, from Net-a-Porter to The Real Real, asks shoppers to fill out a survey. J.Crew has used Instagram’s poll feature to help select new products, and Gucci reportedly even has a “millennial shadow committee” that advises on what’s hip in youth culture.

Sure, it sounds like Balenciaga has teamed up with Big Brother to monitor us all, but here’s why I actually think you should call Balenciaga and participate in this mysterious project: Many luxury houses have found success in the past with the idea of exclusivity and exclusion, all snotty salespeople and look-but-don’t-touch mind-sets. What Balenciaga is doing is confirming that the customer is actually always right—or at least always worthy of being heard.