Balmain F/W 2008.09 Paris

[Betty_B]

^You you could, and I'd prefer it!

 

[MJCouture]

Tacky, Tacky, Tacky, Tacky, Tacky - it seems like that's the most used word in this forum.
Seriously what isn't tacky to you guys?
It is what it is. Jesus.

Right, and what it is, is TACKY. We should just accept it as good? Why? Because Balmain was actually on a decent path before? No. This is a horrific turn that almost cements the line being a third rate presence in editorial AND retail.

 

[clay]

Hopefully there are some brights spots in this collection.

 

[Spike413]

I stand by my earlier statement. If this was one of the Italians people would loathe it for the simple fact that it's an Italian designer doing what Italian designers have become known for.

The difference between this and Cavalli or Versace, for any interested parties, is that when they did the crotch-grazing, blindingly glitzy showgirl stuff, it was honest. It was who they are, and it was signature to them.

This looks like a cheap imitation of their archives.

Balmain s/s 07 was fantastic, very cool, very unfussy and very chic. This is a Vegas drag show.

 

[caliboy672180]

^^agreed

 

[KI_egoiste]

I'm not too sure, I've never seen these clothes at retail and have no idea who actually buys it. I'm going strictly off of what I'm seeing on the runway.

These clothes, as nicely made as they are, are pretty conventional in both design and their sex appeal. These clothes are loud, embellished, indiscreet, and definitely made for show. I think of the women these kind of clothes attract, I think of how much they cost and it becomes more about the conspicuous consumption and display of wealth than it is about style.

There's nothing wrong with sex or blatant luxury. But there's a way to do luxury, like using finely made and specially engineered swiss lace, or using body molded garments framing erogenous zones to give a sense of eroticism, those kind of methods force some thought.

Raising a hemline and adding a bunch of sequins has little effect beyond their immediate qualities; sexy and shiny. I'd like a bit more to wrap my head around. Is the Balmain woman a floozy? Perhaps not, but there's clearly a distinction between her and the kind of customer other body conscious designers like Narciso Rodriguez, Marios Schwab, or Alaia attract.

I'm actually impressed by the amount of analysis you apply to fashion (and I'm not being sarcastic). I agree with most of it.

 

[KI_egoiste]

Spike413, Balmain ss 07 is the collection that comes to mind for me as well, when it comes to Balmain at its best. For those that don't remember:

sexy? yes. glitzy? yes. But in no way comparable to the trash he sent down the runway this season.

 

[KI_egoiste]

oh, and sorry: from style.com

 

[Annu]

Oh.. those ss07 pics reminds me what I like Balmain most. This collection is not my favorite and I really was hoping to see something amazing. I like those red dresses.

 

[The_Ida]

I don't think it's tacky at all. I'd wear it in a heartbeat if I won the lottery or inherited or just suddenly became very wealthy.

 

[coutureEVIL]

such a shame for balmain....lost any touch of elegance with those super trash collections

 

[Mafiosa]

i must admit there are I few things a quite like, a couple of the jackets and a few pairs of pants (not the cropped ones).
But the rest is pretty vulgar, I don't even find it sexy. Would have looked great on this months i-d cover with gemma and lily, though. i remember a lot of people liking that too, but at least that was done with a certain amount of humour. Maybe it’s the season to be sl*tty..?

 

[Versace-Goddess]

It´s a little similar to the last collection but still nice.

 

[Miss Dalloway]

I think he took sex to faar in this collection,before it was playful and fun now its just trying to hard.

 

[Nelia]

So Rock'n Roll I love it!!!!!

 

[leyla m.]

I stand by my earlier statement. If this was one of the Italians people would loathe it for the simple fact that it's an Italian designer doing what Italian designers have become known for.

The difference between this and Cavalli or Versace, for any interested parties, is that when they did the crotch-grazing, blindingly glitzy showgirl stuff, it was honest. It was who they are, and it was signature to them.

This looks like a cheap imitation of their archives.

Balmain s/s 07 was fantastic, very cool, very unfussy and very chic. This is a Vegas drag show.

i so agree!

this is beyond bad that i am quite surprised it is liked by this many members
but then again, i am quite biaised as i dont like many of the milan shows/designers and that this Balmain show just fits in right into that category of the Versace et al.
and again i am one of those who thought BALMAIN had one of the best collections last 2 seasons

 

[Dkammern]

^^answering spike... i think i miss some good quality drag shows these days. even when dolce and gabbana try to be classy and granny, i think we need the young and fresh party/night wear that they present so well.
I did love ss07 a lot better than this, and everything from the short dresses to the best cut trousers looked amazing there, but i like this punker/rocker idea too, and i dont think it's it's just an imitation of old balmain

 

[Nelia]

Versace this collection is very Rock&Roll not tacky that is a big difference

 

[Navygreen]

If i try and disassociate this collection from what Balmain used to stand for in the past [and a not so distant one], i kinda like it, but it's only appropriate for a very certain group of people: performers, all kinds of performers really. But for us "mere mortals"? No.

 

[Betty_B]

It's exacly what it is Las Vegas, get over it, that's what collections are, they are good and they are bad, they go down they go up, sometimes for longer, but it is suppose to be different, don't waste all your energy critisizing designers collections so passinately save it for something more important, and they have tons of peole working on the collections and approving. All I am sayign is, they know what they are doing even if they are playing with fire, the people running the companys are responsibly for what goes down the runway, what is sold in stores and if people hate it - too bad again, it's in their hands they can experiment all they want, who are we to judge them, and not everything is in a single's designer hands so especially don't point fingers at them.