The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
PARIS, France — Balmain goes Barbarella? Though nearly one hundred outfits stomped past on the carpeted floors of the Hotel de Ville for Olivier Rousteing's latest assault, it was the chapter of iridescent, silvered, and day-glo looks that remained burned into one's retinas. Of late, the brand's modus operandi has been to transpose pop themes onto a now well-established set of house codes: the micro-mini evening dress and the power suit being the two pillars that Rousteing transforms each season.
To fulfil Autumn's optimistic, Futurist game plan, they came in holographic paillettes and quilted leather, encrusted with sequins (a trench coat, nonetheless), and plissé-d with plenty of wipe-clean fabrics that continued the graphic move away from primal, craftier embellishments that began in Spring. There was a classicism at play too, with engineered tulle and Breton stripes galore. Though anchored by the tropes of body-con, frills and flounces, Rousteing's upbeat wares cast a wide net here – his passages reading like capsules rather than nuancing a singular message. A tighter edit could help clarify that, without losing an ounce of Rousteing's joie de vivre.
From where aspirational customers are spending to Kering’s challenges and Richemont’s fashion revival, BoF’s editor-in-chief shares key takeaways from conversations with industry insiders in London, Milan and Paris.
BoF editor-at-large Tim Blanks and Imran Amed, BoF founder and editor-in-chief, look back at the key moments of fashion month, from Seán McGirr’s debut at Alexander McQueen to Chemena Kamali’s first collection for Chloé.
Anthony Vaccarello staged a surprise show to launch a collection of gorgeously languid men’s tailoring, writes Tim Blanks.
BoF’s editors pick the best shows of the Autumn/Winter 2024 season.