Olivier Rousteing revives Balmain couture with electrifying show in Paris

Speaking at a special preview of the collection, Rousteing explained that he sees his haute couture as bridging the Balmain of the past with today. He said, “Of course, the house is known for being edgy and sexy and glamorous. Here, it’s all about bringing back Balmain to the elegance of la France. Everything you see will give the sense that it’s taken from the ideas of Mr. Balmain.”

Vogue reviewed the runway show and said:

Thus, the revival of the maison’s haute couture atelier must have been his pearl; a rare and valuable manifestation of beauty, its iridescent nacre akin to layers of workmanship.

And so it’s not for nothing that pearls played a central part in his first couture collection. Right from the start, they appeared as giant Balmain-emblazoned orbs encircling wrists and carried in hand; they were the obvious reference for bulbous skirts molded in leather; and they were applied in bounteous quantities to lattices of ornamentation from suits to jeans. They were the only reasonable explanation for models’ filmy white makeup.