One of my favorite Balmain by Decarnin collection (let's be honest, only his two last were bad).
Balmain by Decarnin really hit the mark. It was the right brand, at the righ moment, by the right people and at the right place.
In retrospect, i can totally see why all the controversy around it was necessary. It really embodied that time frame in fashion: Balmain's success happened during the crisis and yet it was against everything the fashion system was about at that time.
The funny thing is that, there are a lot of that today.
I don't know really how much RTW they are selling today but Balmain was literally sold out everywhere even with the outrageous prices. Before them, it was impossible to believe that people would buy 1000$ t-shirts and jeans, 2000$ jackets and dresses from 3000 to +10000$ and all that in RTW for such a niche brand.
This brand was also the peak of a Stylist/designer collaboration. The lines were so blurred, even more with this collection. The girls looked like Emmanuelle and were wearing the type of clothes Emmanuelle like and walking to the type of music Emmanuelle loves.
Even more funnier, Balmain was criticized for being too repetitive. Look at our industry today!
Decarnin really changed the game in his short tenure at the house. At a moment when we are talking about the departure of Phoebe Philo at Celine, we must remember that the success of Celine was based on how radically different it was a proposition compared to Decarnin's Balmain. Celine was a vision of a woman and not a duo, it was fairly priced and the contrary of excessive.
Oh god I miss this Balmain. It was so fun!