Balmain S/S 2009 Paris

[deschanel]

The dress-skirt's, despite their frill, remind me of mullets. Apart from that and giggling at the shoulder pads, this collection really does please the senses.

 

[4n98]

I like almost everything but the skinny pants,they looks cheap.
the napoleon jackets is to die for.

 

[Kimkhuu]

Huh.... what on earth are those tutu dresses doing in this collection........ Overall I hate the broad padded shoulder look.......

This is like really bad. Last collection was so hot in comparison.

 

[helmut.newton]

I see a lot of Alaia inspiration in the dresses.

 

[the-smiths]

This is really heinous. how unfortunate.

 

[disco54]

im sorry but this is OVER hyped , the blazers are cool but those acid wash skinny jeans are tacky and isnt any thing not available in any high street shop right now , its just hyped because its in Paris , but it looks no different then some of the NY or milan collections in the past , the whole Alaia and Mugler influence is very stale now .

 

[Alejandro]

^ i agree. everyone on this thread who keeps praising how "amazing" this piece of crap collection is have drunk from the koolaid and jumped on the balmain bandwagon a little late. all the people who used to really like decarnin's work have jumped ship already.

i really liked his work for paco rabanne, and the collections he did for balmain up until aw08...albeit his balmain collections have not been much of a stretch at all from what he was doing at rabanne (even the metal mesh!!)... tbh, i don't know why rabanne didn't catch on 10 years ago like balmain is now; that house could've been saved from extinction.

he's debuting the balmain homme collection at next paris mens fashion week btw

 

[fouroclock]

Seems like somebody is back. It's nice to see the jewelled dresses with stronger looking fabric than the hippie look with cigarette holes that he did for the last season or two.

 

[MadameXK]

I am absolutely in love with this collection. I'm just blown away with how detailed and tailored each look is, yet humorous and over the top. So many collections take themselves so seriously, so therefore it's refreshing to see talent mixed with a sense of humor.

I think the balance has finally been struck between tacky and glam-rock and chic and flattering, and I am unbelievably pleased with the results.

Below is my favorite look, as it screams "me." All black, edgy, a little masculine, unique yet undeniably sexy? Yes, please.

Source: style.com

 

[Alejandro]

^ i'd like to clarify that there is nothing humorous about what christophe is doing. decarnin is not franco moschino (rip); there is no subtext or underlining "humor against the standards of the fashion industry" to what he does, it's just him designing what he thinks are "cute clothes" that his customer wants to wear. i don't know where those of you who have mentioned that are getting this from, or why you'd even try to justify this rubbish in some way. there's nothing to it but a questionable level of taste.

that being said, i do like that look that madamexk posted above. minus the insane shoulders, and with some tailoring to the pants (they are way too long in a gross early-00s kind of way), it would be indeed wearable... chic, even...although, it is something we've definitely seen before from balmain.

 

[cato.]

cato, 300 would be cheap! Balmain's tees are around $1400.

EXTREMELY overpriced.

UGH. What the hell? Seriously, why though? Is it considered demi couture or something? I'm just so confused.

 

[Alejandro]

UGH. What the hell? Seriously, why though? Is it considered demi couture or something? I'm just so confused.

there are people who would probably try to justify prices like that as "demi couture"...but it isn't. what's "couture" about a t-shirt with crystals and sequins sewn onto the front? other than the price tag (nearly $2000), and maybe maybe the "embroidery work" could count for something. but there's just no justification in a price like that. balmain's "couture tees" are all 100% cotton as well, so it's not like there's anything special in the fabric. this is like the "expensive bedazzled designer t-shirt" trend of the early 00s, but 10x worse.

example:

s/s 08 collection t-shirt with crystals and sequins, $1810
photo: mytheresa

 

[Spike413]

^ There seems to be a lot of construction inside the dresses (bustiers, boning and what not). The draping would contribute to the prices too.

But I still can't figure out why the clothes cost as much as they do. Right now Browns has the black asymmetrical ruched dress with a chain mail insert at the waist that's going for almost 14,000 dollars.

 

[cato.]

^ That's exactly what I don't understand. Wasn't Rochas under Olivier Theyskens also considered demi couture? Did they sell jeans, tshirts etc .. ? Sorry for being so clueless but I'm just so curious, if Balmain trying to bring back exclusivity?

 

[Alejandro]

^ There seems to be a lot of construction inside the dresses (bustiers, boning and what not). The draping would contribute to the prices too.

But I still can't figure out why the clothes cost as much as they do. Right now Browns has the black asymmetrical ruched dress with a chain mail insert at the waist that's going for almost 14,000 dollars.

many of the dresses in the aw08 collection are just stretchy ruched silk/lycra micro tubes...there's no infrastructure at all. browns had one in red leopard with a sequin lightning bolt in the front and it was about $14,000 as well. regardless, let's be honest, making a mesh bustier with some boning inside a dress is NOT an arduous task and not an expensive one either. cheap $500 dresses from betsey johnson have interior corsets, too.

i did notice in detail shots that a lot more of the dresses in this ss09 collection actually do have interior corsets, etc. i can't imagine how much that will drag the prices up! plus this season also uses tons more crystals, studs, etc...yikes.

a friend of mine has a theory that balmain costs so much because of a) supply and demand: they don't produce very many pieces and this brand is currently fashion's darling... PLUS b) when decarnin first started in 06, the house had just reopened from filing for bankruptcy. it's probably still in the red, and they could use all the money they can get. but tbh i doubt prices would ever go down.

 

[disco54]

I am absolutely in love with this collection. I'm just blown away with how detailed and tailored each look is, yet humorous and over the top. So many collections take themselves so seriously, so therefore it's refreshing to see talent mixed with a sense of humor.

I think the balance has finally been struck between tacky and glam-rock and chic and flattering, and I am unbelievably pleased with the results.

Below is my favorite look, as it screams "me." All black, edgy, a little masculine, unique yet undeniably sexy? Yes, please.

please don't quote images. thank you.

Source: style.com

this is probably the best look in the whole collection , though I am not fan of any of the other looks but the cut of the pant here is very sexy and not the cliched topshop skinny jean of 40 pounds but the dresses are all alia and mugler and a bit of versace from the late 80s ,done tacky . Another thing this brand is retardedly overpriced , like a cotton tshirt for 800 dollars , b*tch please!

 

[Spike413]

^Oh I know Alejandro. I was just throwing it out there because I just can't imagine what justifies these prices.

^ That's exactly what I don't understand. Wasn't Rochas under Olivier Theyskens also considered demi couture? Did they sell jeans, tshirts etc .. ? Sorry for being so clueless but I'm just so curious, if Balmain trying to bring back exclusivity?

Rochas was considered demi-couture not just because of the prices but because of the amount of time consuming handwork and detailing that went into making some of the more expensive pieces. Basically what demi-couture is is clothes that use couture techniques to create ready to wear, in other words, it's not custom made to the clients body or specifications. Rochas didn't do jeans or t-shirts at all, their separates were mostly blouses, skirts, jackets, coats and trousers. But none of those pieces were insanely priced, they cost the same as most designer ready to wear. The demi-couture pieces were mostly ballgowns and such.

 

[Alejandro]

^ now ROCHAS.....was worth every penny
even the simple daywear like suits etc were absolutely stunning, with visible hand stitching everywhere and the most insane tdf fabrics. really special.

 

[disco54]

^ i agree. everyone on this thread who keeps praising how "amazing" this piece of crap collection is have drunk from the koolaid and jumped on the balmain bandwagon a little late. all the people who used to really like decarnin's work have jumped ship already.

i really liked his work for paco rabanne, and the collections he did for balmain up until aw08...albeit his balmain collections have not been much of a stretch at all from what he was doing at rabanne (even the metal mesh!!)... tbh, i don't know why rabanne didn't catch on 10 years ago like balmain is now; that house could've been saved from extinction.

he's debuting the balmain homme collection at next paris mens fashion week btw

yeah his 80s punk wh*re or as somebody beautifully put it the "thiery mugler goes to the trailer park" is just over rated and trying to hard .

 

[Alejandro]

ugh.....i almost forgot about the shoes......rodarte castoffs..... not that anyone will really buy them, anyway

(sure carine & emmanuelle wear this stuff, but they're not contributing any money to the house.....they just stea...err,borrow the samples from the show the day of.....)