BALMAIN @ FW2013/14 Collection

BALMAIN FW2013/14 collection forms an important part of the singular trajectory of Paris’s Haute Couture and Rousteing, grounding his collection in Balmain’s sense of relevance and wearability, looked to important aspects of that history for inspiration. He further evolved the common theme of the Orient as seen through the Parisian prism of couturiers an inspiration that can be noted in Paul Poiret’s early twentieth-century collections, continuing through the creations of Paris’ great post-war talents, right up to the designs of Christian Lacroix.

This led to Rousteing beginning a profound investigation of couture techniques, notably the development of Balmain’s new metallic leather tweed and padded lacquer leather with jewel button quilting. These treatments which rely on couture tradition move Balmain powerfully forward in outstanding jackets and two-piece jeweled dresses.

Balmain’s new hourglass silhouette is punctuated by high-waist sarouel pants in geometric pattern silk lame are key shapes in the collection this season. The sarouels are teamed with Balmain’s rounded jackets, some embellished at the waist with bias pleats. Mini, bias-draped Oriental skirts with high-thigh boots in silk lamé advance a new feminine softness into Balmain’s graphic silhouette.

A sense of fantasy can be seen in the collection’s brilliant palette and pattern mixes in combinations of lustrous moiré taffeta, wet-look lamé and silk shot with Lurex stripes, or stylized geometric patterns recalling ‘70s Parisian couture. Underneath this opulence, Rousteing maintains Balmain’s tailoring, cut and construction in shapes that move comfortably. Balmain’s graphic strength shows in tailored black and white Angora worked into enveloping cocoon coats that are cinched with the collection’s ornate belts covered with chandelier crystals or sculpted like pleated silk in gold metal.

Single-sleeve tunics in Angora or silk lamé are teamed with sarouels or sweeping bias column skirts. This season is also marked by the inventive use of stretch leather in bright colors and pleats, combining strength and a graphic look with a modern lightness that is quintessentially Balmain. Rousteing’s mastery of Balmain’s and Paris’ couture traditions, mixed with his own distinctive “joie de vivre,” help push Balmain forward with an optimistic, modern style.

 “I’m an optimist and, above all, that’s what I wanted this collection to be upbeat, modern and real,” explains Balmain’s designer Olivier Rousteing. “I began with the basic building block thinking about the house of Balmain and its couture traditions, which I am very honored to be a part of.”