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 — You cannot fault Balmain's creative director Olivier Rousteing for not being consistent. He inhabits his own bubble — a flashy, catchy, unabashedly glamorous one — and creates Balmain's collections accordingly. The ingredients are well known and well established at this point, and for menswear are rather autobiographic. Rousteing is the Balmain man. They feature strong-shouldered jackets, dramatic outerwear, long t-shirts and skinny trousers. A high-voltage mix of sparkle and military is another recurring theme. Season in, season out, Rousteing keeps exploring the same shapes and the same details, with little or no progress. Still, he regularly delivers a joyous, energetic punch.
This time around the very same elements coalesced — at least according to the press notes — around the idea of revolution, not evolution. This meant the addition of patent leather and some rather futuristic clear plastic used for outerwear. Was it revolutionary? Hardly. It was business as usual, which the Balmain posse of fans will appreciate.
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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.