***
FW18 Menswear; Major Moment | Balmain
It’s Tuesday..and as the week creeps on, Couture Fashion Week is taking place.
So, while I gather those images for review, my recap of Mens’ Fashion Week continues.
Up next, Balmain.
Now, if you remember a while ago, I did a post on labels merging their Pre-Fall and Menswear collections in an effort to efficiently streamline their production and to cut down on costs associated with releasing new collections.
Balmain is one of these labels.
As a result, this is a mixed-gender show – as most of the mens’ shows were this season – with PFall looks cohesively intermixed with the male collection.
Naturally, this leads to large presentations, so buckle up and prepare yourself for a lot of pictures!
“Fashion is not Evolution but Revolution”
This belief was the underpinning of the Balmain FW18Mens collection.
Olivier Rousteing, the young and highly lauded creative director of the house, notes that this sentiment is true – but is an exact reverse to the original statement made by the founder, Pierre Balmain.
And in today’s political climate – which seems to be something I’m mentioning a lot lately – this declaration is more appropriate than ever.
Part of Rousteing’s Balmain appeal is its connection to the current, social media age.
Rousteing has an uncanny knack of tapping into the millennial generation through Instagram and his high-profile friendships with social media influencers such as the Kardashians.
If it’s one thing he understands, it’s the power of the celebrity.
He muses backstage, that in these semi-turbulent fashion times – due to Trump’s era, and the shifting of many fashion norms – it is exciting to see what will come of it all.
Rousteing has sent out his #BalmainArmy before, to a series of various themes – from punky rock n’ roll to jungle to even a little western – but this time, it’s a little futuristic.
They, like us, have survived, are surviving, and are trying to look fab doing it.
Relateable if I do say so myself….
On the runway, there were worked jerseys, quilted nylon, chainmail and beaded looks.
Rousteing obviously making a concerted effort to ensure that the guys in his army look just as strong as his fierce, female warriors the world has come to recognize.
And of course, probably the most thrilling part of it all, the addition of PVC to add a sleek, chic, retro-futuristic vibe to the collection.
[If anyone knows me, they know I’ve been hunting PVC for the longest – although I’m sure these may be a little out of my price range…]
As expected, with the female looks, there were the barely-theres and lots of skin showing; new Balmain is sexy after all!
Even supermodel Cindy Crawford, who sat in attendance to watch her son Presley Gerber walk, noted that Rousteing is a talented creative.
“Good designers are not just designing clothes, right? They make you dream and they have a vision.”
And that vision was definitely not lost in this collection.
See the rest of the collection here.
Enjoy!
xx
***