Artists constantly take us on a journey into their minds, where their inspiration can be as random as a tree branch they saw in their parents’ backyard, as highbrow as a recent 19th-century romance novel, or as personal as their upbringing. Balmain, the legacy fashion label led by Olivier Rousteing, who was raised in France and is of East African descent, has explored his cultural backgrounds in recent seasons.
What stars and clients wear to the show isn’t always so revealing of what to expect from a show. But from the looks of the brand’s Instagram posts promoting it, I figured we were in for something wild. Then again, one could argue it’s part of the brand’s heritage, all that glitz. And it is. What differed this time around was how Rousteing’s take on showiness relied strongly on organic form, animal print, and fetishism than its usual out-there irreverence. That is to say, it felt closer to Earth. I was instantly stricken by the absence of sharp-shouldered tailoring, an aesthetic cornerstone of Balmain (though some jackets and pants still had the big pockets we associate with its officer style apparel). More emphasis was given to drape and super-formed silhouettes that took shape in clothes one could slip or even sink into.
Scrunchy and vividly cylindrical over-the-knee boots were the footwear highlights here, at times color-matching with the model’s furry handbag, recalling the old notion of women’s style where “the shoes match the bag.” The big deal printwise was zebra, which appeared on sweaters, on coats, on boots, in a soft-shine contrast on a dress.
On the utilitarian end of the collection, a substantial portion of the clothes were in alligator skin. And two leather dresses—one zipping to the neck—looked made to resemble fish scales. It was in those pieces that the collection derived its friction; the rest gave it that nestling glamour: high neck and shawled ribbed sweaters sitting perfectly on the shoulders and elongating at the sleeves; a couple statement bags and belts; coats with a mould that make up the whole outfit.
