People seem to dismiss him unfairly while praising and hyping some lessers :cough:JW:cough: to the highest of heavens. That the other guy may have been simply smart enough to hire a better team of dressmakers, but same old same old tacky and repetitive designs as Olivier's. And at least Olivier owns the tackiness rather than attempt to pass it off as anything but.
Olivier’s tailoring really annoys me: He’s likely shut down all these naysayers if he just get the tailoring right. And it’s such a wonder he doesn't since it’s not his lonesome self toiling away on every collection. Cuz here, he’s doing the latex bodyglove better than Anthony at SL; he’s doing the molded bustier way more interesting than Tom Ford; and his offering of Ferre-esque overblown ruffles is sort of working. Just those 3 design elements would have been enough for one collection. And frankly, his casting has always been his strongest point to show out the less than stellar designs. Now, if he’d only trash those obnoxious late-80s St. John contrasting lapel and pocket detailing along with the even more cheapening Hermes-knockoff prints looks (God, save them for the showroom if these are the pieces that sell to all the Kim K wannabes).
I wouldn’t wear Balmain men if I were paid, but I see (and even appreciate) that he’s so consistent with his vision of an obnoxiously proud Bourgeoisie Queen (and that applies to both his women’s and men’s). That’s the brand of fashion diversity that’s desperately needed in these dire days.