PARIS – The continuity at Balmain was seamless. For his debut Thursday, the house’s new designer served up more of the sex-drenched minidresses and sharp-shouldered jackets that have made the brand among the hottest in Paris.
Designer Olivier Rousteing remained true to the rock ‘n’ roll shapes that are now the label’s trademark. Balmain’s spring-summer 2012 ready-to-wear collection shown in Paris was dominated by the second-skin dresses and blazers with power shoulders that have become the uniform of jet-set party girls with long credit lines the world over.
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Covered in glinting crystals, bulky gold embroidery and metalwork, and hung with a fringe of chains, the clothes looked so heavy it was a wonder the lightweight models made it around the runway.
Thursday’s show was deja vu all over again – which, when you’re a commercial success on the scale of Balmain, is a good thing.
Six months ago, the future of the brand looked anything but certain: When designer Christophe Decarnin, the man responsible for reviving the storied label after a long period of decline in the 1980s and ’90s, failed to show up for last season’s runway show, many in the industry worried about who would succeed him.
With Thursday’s collection, Rousteing – who was promoted from within weeks after Decarnin’s no-show – put those doubts to rest and proved he has what it takes to keep those Balmain cash tills cha-chinging.
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