Balmain Mens F/W 09.10 Paris

[Crying Diamonds]

^ As in, cut in the shape of leather trousers bikers wear.

 

[Donatello89]

so french loooove it

 

[ETROsexualJ]

so french loooove it

hahaha I know I have been down and out lately and feel like I need to go to Paris and run around and be sleazy and chic
I guess until then I can just buy more Balmain
scarf, 3 ts, black cords, hoodie

 

[Street_a_Licious]

must be disappointing to spend all that money and then have people on the street thinking you're dressed in H&M and Diesel.

but hey!

escapism!

for some people it's buying marvelous pieces of clothing which are special from design to fabric to craftsmanship. for others its a 3k pair of Diesel jeans which just say "Balmain" at the beltloop, but which really are just Diesels!

amirite?

 

[ETROsexualJ]

must be disappointing to spend all that money and then have people on the street thinking you're dressed in H&M and Diesel.

but hey!

escapism!

for some people it's buying marvelous pieces of clothing which are special from design to fabric to craftsmanship. for others its a 3k pair of Diesel jeans which just say "Balmain" at the beltloop, but which really are just Diesels!

amirite?

I buy plenty of runway...it's nice to dress tone it down now and then.

But to drive your point home why do I have 6 plain white Jil Sander dress shirts? I could have just got them at H & M, amirite?. Why does anyone buy designer basics?

 

[Thefrenchy]

^^Street, I gotta agree with you...

I've a thing for high quality basics, but knowing how much they charge for this totally bugs me... I mean, it's just so bland and lifeless. Let's not talk about the tees that are clearly basics in anyone wardrobe, but the sweater and the jeans... At this point it's just wearing Balmain for the sake of wearing Balmain.

As I always say "If you can do it, then do it", I'm just trying to understand how could this be appealing to anyone? Or what may be appealing is to say that you're wearing Balmain which seems to be the new "it" brand?...

 

[ETROsexualJ]

The implications here are very scary in that it would appear many think in order for something to be expensive that it must be over designed/logo'd.

 

[Street_a_Licious]

no, but exceptionally well made with extremely high quality fabric. and that still wouldn't warrant that price. if i want un-overdesigned basics for a high pricepoint, i drag my fantastically firm butt to Hermes.

what Balmain does is creating an air or exclusivity and generating press by overcharging to the limit. it's all about seeing how much people would be willing to pay for a slice of the imaginary "exclusivity"-cake.

but, to each their own! maybe your jeans won't show carpetburn in the knees that easily.

 

[Thefrenchy]

no, but exceptionally well made with extremely high quality fabric. and that still wouldn't warrant that price. if i want un-overdesigned basics for a high pricepoint, i drag my fantastically firm butt to Hermes.

exactly.

 

[tatouejeremie]

i really don't get this.. looking at this even sort of angers me

vile

the arrogance that is in these designs.. they're not even trying to make it worth the pricetag

balmain menswear pretty much sums up all that is wrong with fashion these days.

 

[ETROsexualJ]

balmain menswear pretty much sums up all that is wrong with fashion these days.

H&M, Top Shop and all of that??

 

[reese06]

no, but exceptionally well made with extremely high quality fabric. and that still wouldn't warrant that price. if i want un-overdesigned basics for a high pricepoint, i drag my fantastically firm butt to Hermes.

what Balmain does is creating an air or exclusivity and generating press by overcharging to the limit. it's all about seeing how much people would be willing to pay for a slice of the imaginary "exclusivity"-cake.

but, to each their own! maybe your jeans won't show carpetburn in the knees that easily.

Isn't that pretty much the entire high end/luxury fashion industry though?

 

[Thefrenchy]

^maybe, but most of them don't come up with stuff like this collection...

 

[Street_a_Licious]

H&M, Top Shop and all of that??

per se, no. but charging 2k for a pair of jeans which most likely comes from the same factory (those denim factories in Turkey pretty much produce jeans from H&M to DKNY to Armani), don't showcase ANY sort of expertise, that's criminal.

and reese, no other brand charges that much for basics. i can't think of another luxury label where denim costs several thousand dollars. even simple Vuitton jeans don't cost that much and those LVMH ppl are some greedy mofos.

 

[Mutterlein]

The implications here are very scary in that it would appear many think in order for something to be expensive that it must be over designed/logo'd.

I think the real implication is that you aren't spending that money because you appreciate the design but because you appreciate merely how expensive it is. I find it odd that someone who boasts his appreciation for Raf Simons or Damir Doma could genuinely want to wear Balmain's menswear. It's incongruent.

But it's this kind of appreciation that's behind Balmain's success. Is not new and it's not going to go away. And it will make Balmain very very rich.

 

[Street_a_Licious]

well, its' shareholders at least. Pierre's been dead for a while now.

 

[Mutterlein]

well, its' shareholders at least. Pierre's been dead for a while now.

Already understood, I was referring to the company

 

[Morningstar]

Balmain's menswear is extremely unimpressive. If it had been by a contemporary brand with the appropriate price points I'd believe. However, knowing that the bombers will be like $3k and the jeans probably $500+ just totally makes it seem like a brand for victims. There's nothing designed about it except for the fancy logo and nice hangtag with the uber ridiculous price stuck on it.

Also, I couldn't see myself buying designer jeans when there are companies like Acne who really specialize in denim and do it far better and cheaper than some luxury brand throwing it in the line for those who chase a label. It's about as ridiculous as that Brioni tee shirt in the NYT's article.

 

[haoshcn]

I find it odd that someone who boasts his appreciation for Raf Simons or Damir Doma could genuinely want to wear Balmain's menswear. It's incongruent.

I was having the same thoughts. I have been around tfs for a while even though I don't say that much. I always got the impression Mr. "ETROsexualJ" is this fabulous young guy working for SAKS in NYC (am I right?) who has the incredible spending power with also a good taste and good knowledge about fashion. I still remember the way he defended what Raf Simons did for Jil Sander when that rich, spoiled young kid called "Diorling" (where did he go by the way?) ranted with all those stupid nonsense. I also remember all those mouth-drooling Chanel Homme stuff he claimed he bought for his bf a couple of years ago.

It just really confused me that someone like that would spend hundreds or even thousands of bucks on those truly hideous Balmain stuff. I am sorry, ETROsexualJ, no offense, but everything you posted here, maybe with the exception of that scarf, they look horrible, as plain as any mens clothing could ever be. I really wish you had spent those money on something else.

 

[Morningstar]

Selvage authentic fit jeans (rustic authentic wash)