Balmain Mens F/W 09.10 Paris

[ettebe]

Quite basic and simple. One thing I do not know who would buy those jeans :/ those things are hideous.

 

[ETROsexualJ]

I just picked these up today

 

[KhaoticKharma]

^ I don't think anyone hates it because it's horrible looking. I think the general consensus is that this stuff is so basic and uninspired that it doesn't belong on a runway.

There isn't any design present whatsoever. The jackets aren't interesting and certainly don't look like they cost as much as they probably will. The t shirts are just that, t shirts. And no matter how many little extra seams you put into the leg of a pair of jeans, they are still jeans and shouldn't be the focus of a Paris fashion collection.

The fact that this is Balmain, and the prices are bound to be ridiculous only makes this pathetic display of lazy styling even more offensive.

THIS. For sure.

While it might not be fair to compare the women's line and the menswear, it's hard not to. And such inspired, wonderful things are happening at Balmain that it is more than disappointing to see the men's line looking like Rag and Bone rejects.

 

[eugenius]

I just picked these up today

No offense..but with the treatments to make it look aged, plus blank back pocket (without any logo or stitching), all I really see is an old, beat-up pair of jeans from the Gap..with the Balmain logo stitched into the beltline..

And I doubt you paid about $40 bucks for them as well..

 

[ETROsexualJ]

No offense..but with the treatments to make it look aged, plus blank back pocket (without any logo or stitching), all I really see is an old, beat-up pair of jeans from the Gap..with the Balmain logo stitched into the beltline..

And I doubt you paid about $40 bucks for them as well..

Is there anything wrong with that?

 

[ponytrot]

^ no but if they're at Balmain prices...on principle I'd just feel like i was duped by marketing and a brand name.

 

[eugenius]

^bingo.

 

[ETROsexualJ]

^ no but if they're at Balmain prices...on principle I'd just feel like i was duped by marketing and a brand name.

The case of 99.9% of the brands in the market place...but it is one thing when you actually understand that.

 

[haoshcn]

No offense..but with the treatments to make it look aged, plus blank back pocket (without any logo or stitching), all I really see is an old, beat-up pair of jeans from the Gap..with the Balmain logo stitched into the beltline..

And I doubt you paid about $40 bucks for them as well..

I was talking with a friend who is a medical doctor the other day. He knows I love fashion a lot, but he has no interest and no knowledge about fashion at all. I told him that my friend in Chicago spent more than $1,500 on a Jil Sander jacket. He was so shocked, and couldn't believe that people spent that amount of money on such "superficial" things, like ... a jacket. He thought that kind of money should be donated to charity rather than being "wasted" on, again, a jacket. I immediately dismissed his attitude as being naive. I told him that Jil Sander jacket has the design value and superb workmanship in it, and my Chicago friend has absolutely the best taste for everything, not just clothes.

I am just curious how much that pair of Balmain jeans actually cost. I expect the price to be well above $500, maybe $1,000, $2,000? This time I can't decide whether it's better to donate that kind of money to charity, or to spend it on this jeans or any mens clothes from Balmain. Well, I guess I am just jealous. I am "middle-aged" and just spent seven years in the middle of nowhere working day and night to get a PhD degree, and still a $350 Junya Watanabe jacket on final sale at Saks ate a big chunk out of my budget this month. But some fresh young guys in NYC could dump a couple of thousand bucks on a pair of plain-looking jeans without blinking his eyes. Man, I love this world!

 

[BerlinRocks]

seriously ...
for a pair of jeans ... the question is can you spend that much money on it without eating pasta all month long ... if you can, go for it ! you'll make the market work ...
or can you get a good discount because you're working in fashion industry ....... if you can, get it ...

there's always a way ....
but if you cannot afford it, why would you want wasting money on this ?
* sorry i never understood how people could live above their revenues and go into debts ! *

 

[tricotineacetat]

i wonder what's the little 'extra' you are getting from purchasing a rather plain, destroyed-wash balmain jean, compaired to one by, say, acne jeans or any other decent denim brand that are selling such jeans for a fraction of the cost.

if it's only the hype-factor of a brand name, i wonder how poorly-reflected people are these days when it comes to their consumerism.

 

[ETROsexualJ]

You can say with pricing and buying certain brands or $1200 jeans that there is a level of escapism to it.
I've seen trends in sales and talking to other buyers and retailers that during the "recession" the middle of the road customer is going to one of the extremes: they want something tried, true and class or they want something fun, fantasy, runway. I think most know where I fall at any given time recession or not.

Back to the collection: The leather blazer I love and fits great in the body, but could use more oomph in the shoulders. Easy for a tailor or no?

 

[Thefrenchy]

It's nice, but waaaay too plain for their price range. You'd expect them to be a little... Hmmm... inventive... But apparently not...

 

[tricotineacetat]

You can say with pricing and buying certain brands or $1200 jeans that there is a level of escapism to it.
I've seen trends in sales and talking to other buyers and retailers that during the "recession" the middle of the road customer is going to one of the extremes: they want something tried, true and class or they want something fun, fantasy, runway. I think most know where I fall at any given time recession or not.

Back to the collection: The leather blazer I love and fits great in the body, but could use more oomph in the shoulders. Easy for a tailor or no?

yes, argument taken, in case we would speak of Decarnin's league-of-it's-own tacky women's jackets, but how much escapism and fantasy do you really get with the purchase of a pair of fairly 'basic' looking jeans, that are likely even double the price of a pair of slimane's jeans?

i think especially coming from someone who prides himself as being an industry insider, you would reflect that sense of consumerism a bit differently. the whole cycle of up-and-coming go-to designers has become so obscene that i doubt that there are very few with a sincerely strong, continuos aesthetic that can stand the test of time even when the fashion press has found their latest hype?

balmain (womenswear) has become such an obvious uniform for fashion's inner circle of editors and a-list celebs that it's almost for sure that people are getting tired of that story in the near future.

 

[mikeijames]

I am just curious how much that pair of Balmain jeans actually cost. I expect the price to be well above $500, maybe $1,000, $2,000? This time I can't decide whether it's better to donate that kind of money to charity, or to spend it on this jeans or any mens clothes from Balmain. Well, I guess I am just jealous. I am "middle-aged" and just spent seven years in the middle of nowhere working day and night to get a PhD degree, and still a $350 Junya Watanabe jacket on final sale at Saks ate a big chunk out of my budget this month. But some fresh young guys in NYC could dump a couple of thousand bucks on a pair of plain-looking jeans without blinking his eyes. Man, I love this world!

i always respond to concerns like this that clothes on this level don't get designed for people who have to choose between making a $1,000 donation to charity and buying a luxury item: it's for the customer who has the financial wherewithal to do both.

 

[tricotineacetat]

i always respond to concerns like this that clothes on this level don't get designed for people who have to choose between making a $1,000 donation to charity and buying a luxury item: it's for the customer who has the financial wherewithal to do both.

probably, but i guess menswear functions differently than womenswear - you cannot simply rely on the cool-factor of a newly-relaunched brand and think men are gonna fall for the same formula. there aren't that many fashionable, young customers with the big wallet such as hidetoshi nakata that are willing to snatch up the stuff in dozens... men shop differently and if they go for really fashionable clothes, it will be from designers with consistancy and real 'cult', not a 'latest-hot-****' fashion house

 

[mikeijames]

yes, argument taken, in case we would speak of Decarnin's league-of-it's-own tacky women's jackets, but how much escapism and fantasy do you really get with the purchase of a pair of fairly 'basic' looking jeans, that are likely even double the price of a pair of slimane's jeans?

first, the luxury marketplace operates on the same principles of supply and demand as the rest of the market. there's no brand that charges more than they know customers can pay. also, many brands price their denim at a lower price point because they plan to produce more of that item. selling 1000 pairs of dior homme jeans at $400 is no different than selling 200 pairs of balmain jeans at $2000. it's the same amount of sales and the same amount of money. in addition, dior homme probably has a greater negotiating position if it plans to buy 1000 pairs worth of denim from a japanese loom than a house like balmain has therefore it costs more for a house like balmain to realize its vision in the respect than a house like dior homme.

 

[mikeijames]

probably, but i guess menswear functions differently than womenswear - you cannot simply rely on the cool-factor of a newly-relaunched brand and think men are gonna fall for the same formula. there aren't that many fashionable, young customers with the big wallet such as hidetoshi nakata that are willing to snatch up the stuff in dozens... men shop differently and if they go for really fashionable clothes, it will be from designers with consistancy and real 'cult', not a 'latest-hot-****' fashion house

while i agree that there exist LESS menswear customers that follow trend, that customer absolutely exists in both arenas. while we have many women of all stripes who read fashion magazines and buy buzz-worthy names, we have an entertainment and athletic segment that does the same thing in menswear. since they do buy less merchandise than their female counterparts, houses that appeal to that market have to price accordingly. the reason a tom ford suit costs so much more than a standard armani number illustrates this disparity.

 

[Crying Diamonds]

I have to say I actually wouldn't mind a pair of the jeans cut like biker leathers.

 

[ETROsexualJ]

I have to say I actually wouldn't mind a pair of the jeans cut like biker leathers.

The black bikers are more of a treated cotton and not a leather...at least all I've seen.