The BALMAIN women collection for the Spring-Summer season is composed of must-have pieces like the beige trench coat, the double breasted blazer jacket or branded tees. The BALMAIN’ silhouettes are characterized by flared cut and very feminine marked waists. For the show of this current collection, Olivier Rousteing paid tribute to the founder of the House, Mr Pierre Balmain, and at the same time launched “Signature”, a streaming platform of musical content in collaboration with Apple. In the front rows of the parade, screens project images of guests who are not physically present. In the background, a speech in French by Pierre Balmain was told.
In tribute to the founder: former models of the couturier paraded for the occasion, dressed in eccentric accessories in honor of his Roaring Twenties and the historic PB monogram was reintroduced in the collection in all-over printing.
The collection designed by Olivier Rousteing oscillates between elegance and daring, with among others the iconic double-breasted blazer with a gold button, flashy outfits, pagoda epaulettes, 70s flared pants and total 90s denim.
A look back at the history of a "historic" brand ...
Maison Balmain was founded in 1945 by French designer Pierre Balmain. Her first collections at the time were very feminine, Parisian, elegant, and in sober tones. His approach to clothing, dubbed “new French style”, corresponds to a perpetual quest for modernity.
In 1954, Karl Lagerfeld, winner of the wool union competition, saw one of his sketches made by Balmain, which subsequently hired him. When Pierre Balmain passed away in 1982, Erik Mortensen, his first assistant since 1951, took over the haute couture torch until July 1990.
From 1993 to July 2002, Oscar de la Renta held the position of artistic director of the House and remained faithful to the "Jolie Madame" style with fluid and elegant models.
From February 2006, Christophe Decarnin took over the creation of women's ready-to-wear and from July 2008, also of the creation of men's ready-to-wear. His urban influences, added to his love of elegance, a bit opulent, allow him to introduce into the DNA of the brand a rock 'n' roll chic gene.
Since 2011, Maison Balmain has had as artistic director Olivier Rousteing, a young graduate of the Ecole Supérieure des Arts et Techniques de la Mode (ESMOD). Head of the Balmain design studio since 2009, he supervises the creation and development of the ready-to-wear collections for women and men.
