Balmain F/W 14.15 by Mario Sorrenti

[kokobombon]

I like the mood a lot. I only wish Cara wasn´t there, only because she´s so popular right now and in so many campaigns... I´d loved to see a more unknown model.

 

[TREVOFASHIONISTO]

Issa and Binx are so commanding in this

 

[ParisFashionMuse]

I am not a fan of Cara but she looks great in this campaign. Jourdan of course, beautiful as always the rest of the cast can go

 

[Rigida]

I love it! :cool2:

 

[StoneSkipper]

They had to go and do the " models of color as props to White model" thing. Lame.

I don't even think it's that apparent, but now that I see it, I cannot unsee it. Blegh.

Anyway, this looks good, but something's bothering me here. I don't know if it's the lightning or the retouching, but the girls look really tired, somehow. Their faces look really droopy. And, as someone else mentioned, it's amusing that the girl with the least experience out of the cast is pretty much outshining everyone else.

 

[Kite]

New:

olivier_rouesteing Instagram.

 

[Riseup]

Love the color scheme on this one, getting better n better.

 

[kokobombon]

They had to go and do the " models of color as props to White model" thing. Lame.

I honesty don´t see it. Cara doesn´t even look "white", with dark hair and that skin tone she could easily be considered say "latin"... and it wouldn´t be a diverse cast if you purposely leave out a white girl, would it? but again, she´s not a pale blonde girl surrounded by black/latin girls. If she´s in the center it´s because she´s Cara.

 

[Flashbang]

How does Olivier Rousteing top last season’s Rihanna-fronted Balmain campaign? With not one, but six faces. The brand’s new imagery for Fall, lensed by Mario Sorrenti and art-directed and styled by Katie Grand, features Binx Walton, Cara Delevingne, Jourdan Dunn, Ysaunny Brito, Issa Lish, and Kayla Scott. Sporting Rousteing’s safari-inspired Fall fare, his stars nicely embody the heady, hard-edged sensuality he sent down the catwalk in February.

What made the Love editor in chief and über-stylist a natural choice? “She can break all the rules, and that’s what I really, really love from her,” Rousteing told Style.com of Grand. “It was really a strong decision for me and for Balmain, because we never had a campaign with so many girls and expressing this kind of vision. Katie understood from the beginning, and she translated that with the casting and with the looks that we shot.” The designer’s only quibble about his Brit friend and collaborator? “She has the strongest accent ever! As a French boy, you have a hard time understand[ing] an American, so when you have a strong accent from England, it’s like, sometimes I tell Katie, ‘I’m sorry, I don’t understand.’ Sometimes [she talks] and I’m just quiet an entire minute, she’ll look at me and say, ‘You don’t understand, right?’ And I’m like, ‘No.’”

Rousteing was a longtime admirer of Sorrenti, too, noting that he appreciated the photographer’s particular vision of femininity. One need only glance at, say, Sorrenti’s iconic ads for Calvin Klein Obsession or his 2012 Pirelli calendar to grasp the languid sensuality that makes him a logical choice for Balmain. It’s Sorrenti’s talent for the enigmatic, however, that’s most evident here; there’s not much skin from a lensman who’s built his name on nudes. The ads themselves serve as an allegory for Rousteing’s evolving take on sex appeal. “My first show was a lot of leg, a lot of skin, and that was my vision: body-conscious dresses. But my [latest] is all about being covered up from head to toe, and that’s my new vision of sexiness,” Rousteing said. “I still think a girl can be sexy in an oversize khaki jacket or a parka, [or] black tights and a long, midi-cut skirt. I’m growing up at the same time my collections are growing.”

Perhaps most notable, though, are the ads’ message of diversity—one that Rousteing has to some become a de facto poster boy for. “I’m French, I’m black, and I’m proud to be at Balmain, but this is a message of freedom and globalism,” he said backstage in February. Both on his catwalks and in his campaigns, the designer has been active in promoting diversity by casting girls of color and of varied backgrounds. The Fall images boast models from the Dominican Republic, Great Britain, Mexico, and the U.S. As a young designer, Rousteing’s awareness is something that’s come to him with time. “My first collection was all about making clothes, and it was really, really important for me to work on the tailor[ing] and on the clothes, but I realized that day after day and step by step, I’m not only doing clothes,” he offered. “I think fashion is all about a vision that you can give to people; it’s [about] expressing that passion. We need to show how diversity is important.” The new campaign, then, is another step in that vision. As Rousteing himself tells it, “I think it’s showing a new reality—the Balmain reality.”

style.com

 

[TeeVanity]

The other images are so good, it gets better!

 

[GIVENCHYlover]

The best Balmain campaign so far

 

[Nepenthes]

I don't particularly care about Balmain but this is quite cool. I love the cast!

 

[Wolkfolk]

Best campaign under Olivier Rousteing. Nice cast, the girls work really well together and the shots are very strong. It almost makes me like the terrible collection.

 

[Fiercification]

The sharpening in these images ...Sorrenti is really doing the most with that MS Photo Editor circa 2004 tool! The composition of the shots is lovely though and all the girls look great, although it's a shame Jourdan sort of takes a back seat here.

 

[poison84]

Balmain Paris Instagram

 

[thatsfierce]

Brilliant! as much I don't like Cara, the cast is great!! can't wait for more

 

[coutugh]

The diversity statement is empty when Olivier attempts to sell African culture under the "african chic" trend. Also did we forget that Ajak Deng was booted from the African themed runway show last minute? I agree with an earlier comment from another user who said the black models were props to the white models.

 

[kokobombon]

^but then it would have been better if all the models were white? we could argue whether is appropriate to have an african trend at all but in this case Cara is the only white girl and the other girls are in no way dressed or posing in a demeaning way. You have a diverse cast in not only race but nationalities: british, american, mexican... white, black, asian/latin...

 

[coutugh]

^but then it would have been better if all the models were white? we could argue whether is appropriate to have an african trend at all but in this case Cara is the only white girl and the other girls are in no way dressed or posing in a demeaning way. You have a diverse cast in not only race but nationalities: british, american, mexican... white, black, asian/latin...

The point of the collection was to sell African culture under an umbrella of "African chic" so the statement becomes useless. I see your point that the cast is diverse but it is just an imperative to make the trend look like it actually caters to POC culture when it doesn't in any way. The fact that the POC models' appearance isn't demeaning doesn't change anything - it is all about the positioning and visual weight. It is perhaps another one-time attempt for showcasing diversity and getting exposure off of it.

 

[Bruce7Lee]

Terrible cast.