Balmain designer Olivier Rousteing sure knows how to make headlines. Showcasing the Fall 2016 ready-to-wear line at Paris Fashion week, the designer mixed a supermodel lineup, an A-list front row with a unique collection, creating a memorable night.
Changing the supermodels hair colour from blonde to brunette or vice versa, Rousteing made an impression far beyond the collection. Swapping Gigi Hadid and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley to brunette and Kendall Jenner and Alessandra Ambrosio to blonde. A well-thought-out tactic, Rousteing is well experienced in knowing exactly how to create buzz and shock his audience.
FIB’s favourite looks from Balmain’s Fall collection at Paris fashion week. vogue.com
The designer focuses on tiny waists and curvy hips for this collection, crediting this look to ageing supermodels Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell who starred in a recent Balmain campaign. No doubt inspiration was also drawn from his muse of the moment Kim Kardashian-West who is a close friend of Rousteing, along with the rest of her expanding family. Kanye West, sitting front row, stated after the show, “She’s the source; the whole collection is based on Kim.”
“Curves are really important today, because the women of today are really curvy, and they’re an inspiration, like hip-hop stars, reality stars.” – Oliver Rousteing backstage at the show
Although the outfits may have embraced curvacious, hourglass shapes, the models wearing them were anything but. Making shapes look good on models is completely different to how they look on women of different shapes and sizes. This may be a thought for Rousteing to resonate on when casting his next show.
Refusing to oblige to trends, Rousteing’s collections have always had shock value through over the top embellishments, mismatching prints and dramatic lines. Separating their collection this year, Balmain’s pieces take inspiration from several different eras. Mixing oversized jackets with suede pastel corsets and thigh-high boots.
Rousteing often measures the success of Balmain on their social media following, celebrity red carpet appearances and his array of Balmain totting reality stars, singers and supermodels. Balmain has a strong social media presence with almost 3 million Instagram followers; it is more than just a label to be worn, it is a label to be followed, connect with and often communicate with.
This is how Balmain has created such a name for itself in the world of celebrity fashion and how year after year people line up to star in and view Balmain’s shows. Be sure to keep track of the first Balmain store opening up in New York this year and to check out Balmain featuring in FIB’s Masters of Fashion Vol 37 – Paris edition available on Amazon.