Balmain S/S 2020 Paris

[aracic]

vogue.com

 

[aracic]

vogue.com

 

[aracic]

vogue.com

 

[aracic]

vogue.com

 

[Salvatore]

What is it that he is going for ?

 

[perfect blue]

There is just way too much happening here. It is exhausting to look at.

 

[MyNameIs]

Vulgarity, the collection.

It's so awful that it makes me laugh. The funniest thing is that I feel like he thinks he really is DoInG something with these collections.

 

[jeanclaude]

First it is 60s Op-art, then it´s 80s Grace Jones with some Chanel suits; and also it is 90s deconstructionism and one oversized jacket (à la Margiela). But...both 60s Op-art and 90s deconstructionism are like seen through his forever dated 80s perspective.

102 looks for a collection which feels like a riot of decades!

 

[Melancholybaby]

There must be someone in his team who said: "maybe we should not present 1000 looks" or "perhaps sticking with two or three ideas and avoiding epilepsy-inducing colours would benefit the collection". Must be, right? A stylist/head designer/intern, anyone? I guess not, considering what our eyes are witnessing in this thread.

 

[lelaid]

All of the colors and shapes and disorganization make this look like a children's craft project.

 

[Pricciao]

Hate it. And I say this as a compliment.

 

[mistress_f]

i don't even understand what's going on here. it's all so embarrassingly bad

 

[Marc10]

These clothes make no sense. What the hell are these proportions? The cuts? The construction?

 

[aracic]

This really looks like three collections presented as one... it's a mess. He picked a breathtaking location though so that's something, I guess.

 

[mikel]

What the f*ck!?!?!

 

[Lola701]

The problem with the collection is not the number of looks but the self-sabotage...
Each look has a potential that has one element that kills the whole thing and it’s like domino and the whole collection falls apart.

And I think the details have a very Cardin-like vibe of dated futurism.

Olivier is great at simplicity. His bests looks this year were at the Festival, full black, great cut and minimal styling...

For a man so in tune with the world, his fashion looks pretty disconnected.

 

[Phuel]

^^^ This is in tune with his world. And he’s designing for that very hedonist, pampered, privileged, rarified world of Kim K and her kind. These aren’t clothes to wear while riding the subway to work.

I wouldn’t wear Balmain if I were paid, but I appreciate his designs for what they are: Consistently and purely superficial but still full of joy. I don’t hold him to the same standards as someone like Dries/Yohji/Miuccia. And when these designs are restyled from his usual gaudiness (gross @sunglassses with gowns on the runway), they’re rather impressively strong on their own.

(And some of these designs would be a dream to shoot in motion, with all the textures and dramatic sweeps.)

 

[Lola701]

^^^ This is in tune with his world. And he’s designing for that very hedonist, pampered, privileged, rarified world of Kim K and her kind. These aren’t clothes to wear while riding the subway to work.

I wouldn’t wear Balmain if I were paid, but I appreciate his designs for what they are: Consistently and purely superficial but still full of joy. I don’t hold him to the same standards as someone like Dries/Yohji/Miuccia. And when these designs are restyled from his usual gaudiness (gross @sunglassses with gowns on the runway), they’re rather impressively strong on their own.

(And some of these designs would be a dream to shoot in motion, with all the textures and dramatic sweeps.)

But the gag is that the clothes he used to do when he started are closer to what the women at his shows wears.
You go to a Balmain show, you see a lot of blazers, jeans, skin tight dresses...

The women who wears Balmain are into body-conscious fashion. Those clothes that are drowning the body are not really their cup of tea so I don’t really get it...

 

[Phuel]

^^^ Yes, and he’s still offering his signature 80s-blazer with the skinny pant, even in this show.

I appreciate he’s also venturing into a more voluminous proportion, and playing with compositions: baring the shoulders with a meticulously sculpted décolleté version of Le Smoking. Of course there are too many looks and some don’t work— then there are some solid proposals that at least show experimentation, craft and skill on his part. He’s willing to challenge his clientele even if he's not challenging someone more sophisticated like yourself. His designs are evolving and still maintaining a very sharp vision of his Balmain. That’s not always easy to do, and he doesn’t get enough credit for it.

His collections are so much more interesting, stronger and exciting as separate pieces than as a complete brand. And this one is no exception (maybe even more so).

 

[Lola701]

^^
Exactly, he is good at doing separates that can stand out but there’s always this huge clumsiness in his designs.
It’s frustrating because he showed us in his earlier work that he can tastefully manage excess, chic and sexiness...

And when he does looks for Juliette Binoche, I got what I want from him: a sense of graphism but also a great tension between excess and chic...

I can’t wait for the moment he move out from this phase. I really like Olivier and it’s a pity.