Sep 28, 20232 min read

Balmain SPRING 2024 READY-TO-WEAR

The sophisticated signature and couture aesthetic of the Parisian Maison was beloved by European and Hollywood royalty, the same is true today under Oliver Rousteing’s direction and his ‘Balmain army’ of It girls and starlets.

Olivier Rousteing’s show for Balmain was a true art class. Today’s lesson: volume and sculpture.

The show came to life with great tailoring in the best Balmain style (blazers with sexy cuts with prominent shoulders), mini dresses with corsets that pin the waist and push the hips out, or even literal metallic sculptures enveloping the model’s body. Flowers were also draped in many of the looks, creating a stunning 3D effect, in polka dot fabric or fully bejeweled.

Olivier Rousteing presented his Balmain Spring-Summer 2024 womenswear runway at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, in view of the ultimate Parisian symbol: the Eiffel Tower.

Channelling that "New French Style" of house founder Pierre Balmain, the Creative Director pulled in the soft curves from the archives of the 1940s and early 1950s with his atelier’s architectural mastery of sculptural shapes and precision tailoring to present a collection focused on the spirit of the rose — the joy, love, and beauty associated with the flower.

"I’d like to try to avoid the easy assumption that a florals-for-spring offering that celebrates love, beauty and joy must, by definition, be superficial. Love is complex—every rose, after all, comes with its thorns. And we wholeheartedly embrace that complexity, with thorns showing up in multiple sizes and forms throughout this runway." - Olivier Rousteing

A lesson in volume and sculpture – and a love letter to the French house – the colourful collection was brought to life with 3D flowers adorning polka dots and bejewelled looks.

A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME…

A centrepiece of the Balmain Spring 2024 collection, Creative Director Olivier Rousteing uses the rose to showcase his Atelier’s exceptional savoir-faire. Petals, thorns, leaves, and branches in different shapes and materials - patent leather, rubber, latex, or even recycled plastic bottles - adorned the runway in loving hommage to one of Pierre Balmain’s most beloved symbols.