But perhaps the most buzzed about pieces were the ones printed fully in the word “Balenciaga” in various Microsoft Word fonts. Indeed, the show’s closing look (above), a beautifully structured black number, seemed at once a testament to Balenciaga’s masterful tailoring and an earnest love letter to clip art.

The collection is unusually good press for Comic Sans MS, arguably the world’s most hated typeface. As Anne Quito wrote last year for Quartz, the font—which was designed in 1994 for a children’s computer program—is considered “the old punching bag of font jokes,” and has been roundly mocked for being hideous since its inception 23 years ago.

It’s appropriate then that the undisputed Regent of Ugly has claimed the font as its own. Balenciaga has spent the last year rejoicing in ugliness. Indeed, the label can probably take some credit for fashion’s current love affair with ugly footwear: Its take on the “dad shoe,” the $895 Triple S, continues to be a massive success, paving the way for the revival of other clunky sneakers, such as Fila’s Disruptor. Balenciaga’s $900 platform Croc also sold out upon its debut.

The question of whether Balenciaga is trolling us has sometimes come up—for example, when it released a $1,300 “t-shirt shirt” (a dress shirt attached to the front of a t-shirt) and a $10,000 “parka jacket,” (seven jackets stacked on top of each other). But trolling or not, Balenciaga is the fastest-growing brand in Kering’s luxury portfolio. Clearly, its subversive embrace of all things ugly—amid all fashion’s glamor and good taste—is tapping into something essential.

A wholehearted embrace of the world’s ugliest font may be pushing it—font enthusiasts are very serious about their fonts, after all. But if anyone can give Comic Sans a second chance at life, it’s Balenciaga.

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