Balmain F/W 2009.10 Paris

[Emilee]

same

 

[KKnardi]

michael jackson wore black/silver t-shirt and belt from this collection. April 10, 2009 in Los Angeles, Ca. mjjpicture.com

 

[vogue28]

I personally LOVE Balmain. The shoulders are fantastic!
One of my favurite shows of F/W 0910.
thanks so much for the HQ's Emilee

 

[gb_32]

#15!♥
thanx for pix. i like it.

 

[mikeijames]

the return of sex.

You know what I'm going to speak in general defense of this collection. It's the same crap different day but there is something so completely wonderful about it. The Balmain girl is just...well she's a girl I enjoy. She's one of those cigarette smoke scented, slightly drunken party girls whose skirt is too short and she's not wearing undies. She's this brazen almost unhinged creature high on money, low on class and yet irresistible. These clothes are the clothes you get sloshed in the back of a limo in - I'm never going to do that but I'm glad someone else is so I'm happy this exists. SOMEONE has to do this and now that Roberto Cavalli has gone and gotten recession conscious and faux-classy I'm more than happy that Christophe Decarnin has picked up right where he left off and provided the Kate Mosses of the world with something to have hiked up backstage at a Kills concert.

Kudos Christophe. Kudos.

i completely agree with this comment. in this world of economic turmoil, we have two classes of women, those who spend and those who do not. what's frustrating for our chattering classes remains that they do not like the woman who can still afford to spend this way. these girls aren't the ones looking for last season's marc by marc cardigans in the barney's bargain bin.

also, what i think most people respond to about this collection remains the unabashed sexuality these clothes convey. not since tom ford made his splash at gucci have we seen this sort of high-octane sex-sells fashion. even galliano for dior has gone demure. roberto cavalli barely shows cleavage. and for all of the complaining, this stuff is selling and that's something we can't say for clothes that appeal to wives of doctors, lawyers, and footballers set.

and yes, it's expensive, but real fashion has always been about exclusion and exclusivity, but has anyone seen the prices on those itsy bitsy balenciaga bags? how about those fendi gold furs? real fashion these days isn't for the masses anymore.

vogue.fr

style.com

 

[lemeray]

At Michael Jackson!!!

 

[seesaw]

absolutely horrendous

how does this man make a living?

 

[walkingdown]

my first thought was - sasha and balmain again?
but she actually looked good!

 

[b9409]

If we are talking about a girl with no underwear, messy greasy hair, smudged lipstick, dirty nails and probably a broken heel by the end of the night, then yeah, these are the perfect clothes... 25,000 dollars a piece!!!!

No disrespect, but are you guys who approve this mentality crazy???

That girl I just described and this show wants to project, buys her crap from Urban Outfitters. If you are charging more money than Chanel, Dior and Lanvin combined for an outfit you can buy from some seedy East Village store for 25 bucks, then you are an idiot, I am sorry. This is an awful show. If you look at those pant/tshirt combos, it is the exact silhouette Abercrombie markets to New Jersey girls. The ruffles, the shoes, the crystal pieces... omg, there is nothing worthy of that much money, time and attention. It is simply grotesque.

If I were a girl and had some 500,000 dollars to spend on the occasional seasonal shopping and wanted to look super trashy, sexy, and even sleazy, I still wouldn't buy one garment from this collection. I really wouldn't. Go hunt down vintage Versace, Tom Ford, Galliano, Ferre... early 2000s stuff... when the fabrics that were extremely luxurious, low cut yet fantastic in every way. Go buy Balenciaga: with their airbrushed sculptural pieces that put couturiers to shame. If you want to be of the moment, then spend your money on Tisci or Elbaz... unbutton the top and you have the sexiest clothes created since the liquid gold gowns of Cleopatra from Ancient Egypt!!

I cannot believe there is a market that dares tp charge this much money for RTW clothes that cannot be compared to couture, really well-made RTW or fashion-forward experimental pieces. The sexiest collection of the season has been Chalayan, and even his prices are so much lower than what Decarnin charges for midnight blue sequin latex skirts with hideous black exposed zippers. The looks for Pussycat dolls I guess.

And to think that people compare this to Balenciaga... It is almost blasphemy.

One final thing: if you say you like the girl this show represents, then fine, I have no objection. But this girl is not some ephemeral or unreachable creature that some Galliano or McQueen show represents. She is the trashy sl*t, which you can be in anything you wear as long as you are skinny and extremely leggy. It can be Gucci, Armani even, Balenciaga, Urban Outfitters, the Gap... Being that girl is just about attitude and wearing less than nothing. That is about it. But charging this much money for these clothes almost says 'this is the highest pantheon of fashion that this industry has to offer... the ultimate best' and God, it so is not. Whoever is doing their PR and marketing must be the greatest person working in the industry. They do deserve a friggin' medal, and a huge bonus.

I do like certain Balmain pieces from the last season, but I thought even those were overpriced. Is it so difficult to expect sexy done in a respectable and unapologetic way with a very healthy dose of luxury... like Tom Ford or Donatella. Cavalli has never been this tacky. And Decarnin will never be the next Giannni.

 

[Deleted member 7575]

The phenomena of Balmain's overwhelming success is a case study in all of our misconceptions on luxury, especially in this recession. It is inaccurate to assume that wealthy people enjoy a universal taste level that would prohibit them from purchasing clothes like these. It is inaccurate to assume that people would prefer Margiela or Balenciaga over this. What we have seen, despite what we consider bad taste, despite what we think is vulgar or garish, and despite the anemic economy: you put sequins on a short dress and charge 15,000 Euro and there are more than enough people out there with money that will be convinced it's covetable. I say, let people to their own distractions. It's not totally bad, it's certainly better than Versace and the shoulders make it a bit forward. Still, if Decarnin expects to rehash the same 80's vamp look again for spring 10 he'll have a wake up call as all the editors are in position to pounce.

 

[50two]

the first thought that came into my head when i saw this was 'marketable'.

maybe its the financial crisis or something (notice the ridiculous price tags), but basically all the clothes are edgy in the eyes of consumers but nowhere near innovative in design. its all very pretty.

 

[mikeijames]

Still, if Decarnin expects to rehash the same 80's vamp look again for spring 10 he'll have a wake up call as all the editors are in position to pounce.

money talks and if anyone thinks that any editor (worth her salt) in this recessionary environment will deplore a line that's ACTUALLY selling (versus the legion of designers who make a living these days by lending their clothes to celebrities and selling them at 60% off at saks), they will be sorely surprised.

we will not only see this line embraced in editorials, we'll see it thoroughly copied by high street.

 

[designerleather]

Well, while the Uber-Elite would seem somewhat more isolated to the financial impact of recessions/depressions, also understand that some of these currents take many many quarters for the full impact to be felt. There will always be politics and biased image that is promoted, and the victims in these periods are generally the smaller niche names

 

[b9409]

money talks and if anyone thinks that any editor (worth her salt) in this recessionary environment will deplore a line that's ACTUALLY selling (versus the legion of designers who make a living these days by lending their clothes to celebrities and selling them at 60% off at saks), they will be sorely surprised.

we will not only see this line embraced in editorials, we'll see it thoroughly copied by high street.

Does this really sell that well??

I soemhow cannot believe it. I mean, if these were moderately priced clothes, or like any regular Givenchy/Lanvin piece, I would say 'yeah, people have horrendous taste, and yet they want to also look sl*tty, I can see someone picking this hideousness over Lanvin..." but for 25,000 dollars or euros or whatever???????

That is crazy. Go buy a Birkin or two. Go buy a pair of Cartier drop earrrings. Those scream 'money' much louder, if that is the objective in motion here.

 

[Deleted member 7575]

money talks and if anyone thinks that any editor (worth her salt) in this recessionary environment will deplore a line that's ACTUALLY selling (versus the legion of designers who make a living these days by lending their clothes to celebrities and selling them at 60% off at saks), they will be sorely surprised.

we will not only see this line embraced in editorials, we'll see it thoroughly copied by high street.

oh?

Was it just coincidence that Christophe Decarnin showed his Balmain collection in the same room—the swimming pool at the Ritz—that Gianni Versace used for his couture spectaculars? There was certainly an almost Gianni-like gaggle of fans jostling outside, and a heated buzz of anticipation in the house for the man whose frank embrace of rock-chick bling, rounded "tennis ball"-shouldered jackets, and elaborate jeans have shot him to the position of No. 1 most copied designer in the space of two seasons. The choice of venue only added to the sense of expectation heaped on Decarnin's performance as fashion's latest appointed savior of good-time, high-sparkle, downright sexy dressing.

Decarnin certainly proved he's the leader of the disco fever he has single-handedly triggered this season. He had the shortest, tightest body dresses witnessed anywhere: smothered in Swarovski crystal, flouncing up at the shoulder, tightly bound in satin drape or quilted, chain-wrapped black leather. The cult peaked-shoulder Balmain jacket was reiterated in force: same signature shape, now manifested as a leather biker as well as a tuxedo jacket, and often paired with new drapey harem pants or skinny jean-cut black trousers. Every look was thrust into deep-cuffed suede boots with a stack of silver buckles running up the side.

All that probably threw on enough fuel to keep Balmain on fire for the next season, not just with trophy-hunting girls who can afford the red-hot prices but also with the knock-off merchants who will be laughing all the way to bank while making an easy killing with stick-on glitter and the minimum yardage of Lycra and fake leather. In that way, Decarnin deserves acknowledgement for keeping the wheels of fast fashion turning. Exactly how far it's going to go is open to question, though. By halfway through the show, Decarnin's looks—the jacket, pant, and drapey T-shirt; the minuscule dress; and the half-train gown—were already into heavy rotation. If he's really going to win a place as the Versace of tomorrow, he'll have to come up with more than that next season.

- Sarah Mower for style.com

Balmain drew a crowd on Thursday at the Ritz. The French dearly love Christophe Decarnin’s cool jackets and sexy pants (now harem-style with slits up the front), but to an American, at least, listening to the disco remix — well, it’s as if a woman has stepped into a pail of glitter on her way to see “Dancing With the Stars.” Oops!

- Cathy Horyn for the NYT

PARIS — The covered-over swimming pool at the Ritz hotel was the fashion territory of the lateGianni Versace. So it made a fitting runway for the 1980s redux atBalmain's show on Thursday.
With pagoda shoulders, sparkling fabrics, quilted leather and metal studs, not to mention hunks of crystal, the designer Christophe Decarnin's show looked very familiar - not least because new ideas were as short as the models' brief, buttock-grazing hemlines.
As Diana Ross, the Jackson Five and Sister Sledge ramped up the soundtrack, the theme was "Versace takes a trip" - short skirts thrusting from cut-away long gowns and all the metal mesh and silvered chains that the earlier era once owned. Even the cobalt blue, the single stand-out color among black or white, had an '80s edge.
The Balmain show was as disco as it was frisky and its appeal was simple: sexy chic. Or should that be "sexy chick" because, with their messy hair and bare legs above faintly fetishistic boots, this was not about Parisian glamour but a global hard-partying look.
The clothes are what are vulgarly known as "result" dressing. And the result is certainly wondrous for Balmain, which has gone from being fusty to feisty, making Decarnin the unlikely hero of the Euro-trash set. New insertions were a one-shoulder frill, and harem pants open at the front as a window on the legs. There was even a hint of sportswear in a sparkle-striped boyfriend sweater and the glittering white cardigan and T-shirt that closed the show.
Since every other house copies his approach, Decarnin will have to find a way to move Balmain forward. But for now he remains, at this sobering-up moment, the last designer to leave the party.

Suzy Menkes for the IHT

Already understood Mike. But if selling was all it took to get an editor to appreciate a label we'd see much worse in our fashion magazines.

 

[fashion.fashoff]

i'm all for 80s references but this seems way to literal and unoriginal. some of the outfits make me think ice capades circa 1987.

 

[Dianochka]

I would wear some of these pieces if they were toned down a bit. I agree with the alien invasion from the 80's comment...

 

[tricotineacetat]

people kept bashing julien macdonald for his 'short and sexy' style in the early 2000's, these days however, decarnin is doing it way more blatantly and with a lot less refinement and gets away with it... it's okay to charge big bucks for a little party dress, but the beadwork better be as great as at julien macdonald's last show, at marchesa or at balenciaga, where lesage is doing the embroidery for all the more elaborate, five-figure showpieces. this looks like some randomly-patched swarovski deadstock... no thanks!

 

[mikeijames]

Does this really sell that well??

I soemhow cannot believe it. I mean, if these were moderately priced clothes, or like any regular Givenchy/Lanvin piece, I would say 'yeah, people have horrendous taste, and yet they want to also look sl*tty, I can see someone picking this hideousness over Lanvin..." but for 25,000 dollars or euros or whatever???????

That is crazy. Go buy a Birkin or two. Go buy a pair of Cartier drop earrrings. Those scream 'money' much louder, if that is the objective in motion here.

according to roopal patel at bergdorf goodman and also net-a-porter.com.

http://www.style.com/fashionshows/video/F2009RTW-BALMAIN

http://www.latimes.com/features/lifestyle/la-ig-denim-0517-pg,3,3475882.photogallery?index=2


balmain is NOT for the un-initiated. this is for the girl who already has birkins (posh spice, for example, has sixty birkins) or for the girl who shops cartier for baubles she wears once (think rachel zoe's clientel, et al).

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/a...lion-100-virtually-identical-Birkin-bags.html

these clothes appeal to the same class of women that foamed at the mouth over gucci when tom ford took the helm. it's overt. it's unapologetic. and they're actually buying it.

i know it's trendy these days to hate people who have enough money to blow on things like ripped jeans, sparkly dresses, and 'it' shoes, but they're still out there and it's clear the new brands they're choosing. they're the ones that are surviving.

 

[mikeijames]

oh?

- Sarah Mower for style.com

- Cathy Horyn for the NYT

Suzy Menkes for the IHT

Already understood Mike. But if selling was all it took to get an editor to appreciate a label we'd see much worse in our fashion magazines.

we'll have to wait for the fall glossies to start trickling out for the final verdict on this particular collection, but if the spare summer pages of our favorite fashion rags are any indicator, balmain still remains in good favor at most of the conde nast books, elle, and a few others, for their spring line.

in fact, i feel like ginnifer goodwin wears a fall leather dress in her most recent w magazine spread.....

http://www.wmagazine.com/celebrities/2009/06/ginnifer_goodwin_ss?slide=5
http://www.style.com/fashionshows/c...RTW-BALMAIN/?loop=0&iphoto=1&play=false&cnt=4