Olivier Rousteing - Designer, Creative Director of Balmain

[Mutterlein]

i know people say this all the time and, arguably, it's a bit trite now but i think it's never been more apt: fashion is dead.

Died and went to hell.

 

[Mutterlein]

Pokemon creatures evolve into something better...I just hope Balmain some day can evolve into something better too...

I've given Rousteing more benefit of a doubt than anyone, and far more than he deserves, but his time has come. His collections are a parody of a parody of a parody. I cannot imagine there is much to entice even the tackiest, rich and mindless bimbo.

I assume he's still there because it sells. But surely there is better loud, vapid and obnoxious clothes to be worn?

 

[Phuel]

^^^ This era of all eras is all a sloppy sloppy sloppy parody of fashion— with the tackiest of rich bimbos abound. Just fool the masses with the “empowered, independent, outspoken woman” moniker while dressed and behaving as the tackiest of strippers and no one will dare to criticize you.

And anyway isn't it a bit off brand for a luxury fashion brand to do cartoon collabs? Should really be left to Levi's etc it's much more attuned to their base.

Pieces look forgettable. You can tell very little thought went into it. I wouldn't say no to those sneakers though.

LOL Because the children are flexing Levi’s on their SM??? Collabs like this are for the kidz snatching up blah brands Rhude/Palm Angels/A-COLD-WALL* like it doesn’t cost anything— it’s not for the commoners shopping at urbanoutfitters.

Rich gamers are wearing Balmain hoodies and driving Lamborghinis (at least Tesla) nowadays— not wearing Levi’s and driving a Kia. That there’s now a Pikachu puffy decal x brand's logo/monogram on the hoodie for $2000usd is only going to be snatched up by these types. This is the uniform of the young and rich. And all these corporate brands are kowtowing to them. This customer's not interested in high-concept, refined and masterfully tailored designs: They’re only interested in basics with a puffy sticker of their fav Pokemon and Balmain’s log/monogram. And besides, what is high-design anyway in 2022 when the most coveted French brand is American mall knockoff Jacquemus, whom 10 years ago, wouldn’t even be accepted by Americans let alone represent French high fashion. These are the days, Benn.

 

[upNorth]

Unfortunately, Balmain has dropped to Philipp Plein level of tackiness. There is little desirability to be found.

 

[gallianostan]

And besides, what is high-design anyway in 2022 when the most coveted French brand is American mall knockoff Jacquemus, whom 10 years ago, wouldn’t even be accepted by Americans let alone represent French high fashion.

we talking chanel or dior? both could pass for that description

 

[DK92]

Pokemon creatures evolve into something better...I just hope Balmain some day can evolve into something better too...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…

 

[MagFan]

Balmain Designer Olivier Rousteing Talks Criticism with Iconic Journalist Suzy Menkes

 

[Nimsay]

I cant take designers who chop their face seriously. He was never ugly.

 

[LadyJunon]

Six suspects for the Balmain theft have been arrested yesterday morning:

Info ELLE - Arrest of six men in the Balmain affair
Published on January 16, 2024 at 8:25 p.m.

Nearly four months after the theft of part of the Balmain collection, several arrests took place Tuesday morning in the Paris region.

The affair caused quite a stir. On September 18, Olivier Rousteing revealed that he had had a large part of the pieces from his latest collection stolen.

The investigation seems to have progressed considerably since we learned that six men, aged 23 to 32, suspected of being involved in this theft, were arrested Tuesday morning in Val d'Oise (D95) and Val de Marne (D94), before being placed in police custody in Seine-Saint-Denis (D93),

A week before Fashion Week, a driver from the DHL company transporting around fifty pieces from the spring-summer 2024 collection was attacked by three hooded men on the D88 departmental road, not far from Roissy airport.

The thugs had seized the truck, which was found about ten kilometers away, emptied of its precious cargo.

“It’s so unfair. So many people worked hard to make this collection come to fruition,” declared Olivier Rousteing, the artistic director of Balmain, in an Instagram post.

According to our information, the judicial police in charge of the investigation had identified the suspects several months ago. The arrests could not take place earlier because one of the suspects had gone abroad. He returned yesterday evening, which allowed the police operation to begin.

During searches of the suspects' homes, police found a number of luxury items, including Dior and Saint Laurent bags, as well as around ten pieces from the Balmain collection, including pants, shirts and dresses. The merchandise should be promptly returned to the designer.

The suspects could have benefited from internal complicity within the carrier, since one of those detained worked in conjunction with the company DHL. All are already known to the police, particularly for theft cases. Their police custody can last up to 96 hours, the investigation having been opened for organized gang theft.

Text in original language:

Info ELLE - Interpellation de six hommes dans l'affaire Balmain
Publié le 16 janvier 2024 à 20h25

Près de quatre mois après le vol d’une partie de la collection Balmain, plusieurs interpellations ont eu lieu mardi matin dans la région parisienne.

L’affaire avait fait grand bruit. Le 18 septembre dernier, Olivier Rousteing révélait s’être fait dérober une grande partie des pièces de sa dernière collection.

L’enquête semble avoir considérablement avancé puisque nous apprenons que six hommes, âgés de 23 à 32 ans, soupçonnés d’être impliqués dans ce vol, ont été interpellés mardi matin dans le Val d’Oise (95) et le Val de Marne (94), avant d’être placés en garde à vue en Seine-Saint-Denis (93),

Une semaine avant la Fashion Week, un chauffeur de la société DHL transportant une cinquantaine de pièces de la collection printemps-été 2024 avait été attaqué par trois hommes cagoulés sur la départementale D88, non loin de l’aéroport de Roissy.

Les malfrats s’étaient emparés du camion, qui avait été retrouvé à une dizaine de kilomètres, vidé de sa précieuse cargaison.

"C’est tellement injuste. Tant de personnes ont travaillé dur pour que cette collection voie le jour" avait déclaré Olivier Rousteing, le directeur artistique de Balmain, dans un post Instagram.

Selon nos informations, la police judiciaire chargée de l’enquête avait identifié les suspects depuis plusieurs mois. Les interpellations n’ont pas pu avoir lieu plus tôt, car l’un des suspects était parti à l’étranger. Il est revenu hier soir, ce qui a permis le déclenchement de l’opération policière.

Lors des perquisitions au domicile des suspects, la police a retrouvé nombre d’articles de luxe, notamment des sacs Dior et Saint Laurent, ainsi qu’une dizaine de pièces de la collection Balmain, notamment des pantalons, des chemises et des robes. La marchandise devrait être rapidement rendue au couturier.

Les suspects pourraient avoir bénéficié d’une complicité interne au transporteur, puisque l’un des gardés à vue a travaillé en lien avec la société DHL. Tous sont déjà connus de la police, notamment pour des affaires de vols. Leurs gardes à vue peuvent durer jusqu’à 96 heures, l’enquête ayant été ouverte pour vols en bande organisée.

Source: Elle France

 

[LadyJunon]

Also, we're getting a solo menswear show on Saturday:

Why Olivier Rousteing Is Giving Balmain Menswear Its Own Spotlight
After pivoting to coed formats during the pandemic, Balmain is back on the Paris calendar with a stand-alone men's show on Saturday.

By MILES SOCHA
JANUARY 16, 2024, 1:00AM

If you’ve ever attended a coed fashion show and felt that the womenswear overshadowed the menswear, you’re not alone.

That’s one reason Olivier Rousteing is giving back Balmain‘s men’s collection its own spotlight with a dedicated show on Saturday during Men’s Fashion Week in Paris.

“Also, sometimes the men’s buyers are not coming during women’s fashion week, so they don’t see the clothes in real life, and we sell via iPads long distance,” the designer said. “I think menswear needs to be seen and touched as a craft, to appreciate the tailoring and the sharpness.”

While keeping his fall 2024 collection under wraps until his show at the Grande Halle de la Villette, Rousteing characterized it as a “rebirth” for several reasons.

The coed format, which Balmain adopted during the pandemic, meant men’s and women’s collections were often thematically linked and shared similar silhouettes, fabrics and inspirations.

For the stand-alone men’s show, he said he would focus on tailoring, quality, timelessness and an attitude he called “citizen of the world.”

“My men love to feel like a new prince of the world,” he said over Zoom from his office. “The show that you’re gonna see on the 20th will have nothing to do with the women’s show that you will see on the 28th of February. I love to give two directions.”

Rousteing has designed Balmain menswear since he arrived at the creative helm of the French house in 2011, staging his first dedicated men’s runway show for spring 2016, and building it to represent about 30 to 35 percent of the business. His ambition is to take it up to 50 percent over the next few years, convinced men’s attitudes toward fashion, and dressing habits, have shifted dramatically over the past five years.

“The men’s wardrobe has completely shifted and there is a sense of freedom,” he enthused.

Despite all the headlines hailing the return of suits and the death of luxury streetwear, Rousteing countered that hoodies, jerseys, caps and sneakers continue to sell in important quantities — so much so that he’s introduced a men’s offering dubbed Main Lab, a clever scrambling of the Balmain name.

The sleek looks, done up in technical fabrics, mainly in black and white and with a “more minimal feel,” are in the spirit of Balmain’s bestselling sneaker — the Unicorn.

Main Lab debuted Wednesday at a pop-up inside Tokyo department store Isetan’s Shinjuku branch, then landed later in the week at 17 Balmain boutiques in the Americas, Europe and Asia, in addition to balmain.com.

In a wide-ranging interview, Rousteing acknowledged that the menswear archives of house founder Pierre Balmain are thin, since men’s was primarily a licensed business commencing in the 1980s.

Still, the French founder’s legacy of tailoring, craft and innovative fabrications, which have been rich fodder for recent Balmain womenswear collections, are good for the gander, too. “It’s a huge archive, where I can play with many elements for either men or women.”

Rousteing’s own fashion instincts figure prominently, seen in his recent penchant for wearing platform shoes, and designing them for his male Balmain army. Ditto his weakness for shoulder pads and — more recently — boot-cut pants that flare out over boots with a western twang.

“I try and give as much as I can from my own identity to my collections,” he said, ascribing his clothes provide “more self-confidence than sexual confidence.”

While many male designers rarely stray from a wardrobe of plain T-shirts and jeans or chinos, Rousteing is more of a chameleon, recently experimenting with long, braided hair and slouchy, oversize silhouettes, like the loose gray sweatshirt he sported for the video interview.

Rousteing, who suffered painful burns to his torso and limbs after a fireplace explosion at his Paris home in 2020, said that accident made him realize that he was “trying to please the rest of the world more than myself.”

So he strayed from his go-to double-breasted navy blazers with gold buttons, which he still wears from time to time, and embraced the freedom of being whomever he wanted to be, dispensing with fears of judgment.

“Right now we can feel that more men are also claiming their fashion freedom, which makes me happy,” he said. “It’s the beginning of a journey for me to be myself and be free. I would rather be hated for who I am than be loved for who I’m not.”

While Rousteing is loyal to iconic Balmain styles like slouchy double-breasted jackets, striped Breton jerseys and now high-heeled boots, he likes to mix in items from other designers, including pieces from Rick Owens, Vetements, Balenciaga, Dior by Kim Jones and also some women’s Chanel jackets and handbags.

Asked which men inspire him, Rousteing said Pharrell Williams has for years, in music and fashion. Last October, when French President Emmanuel Macron hosted a dinner for the fashion industry, Rousteing sat across from Louis Vuitton’s new men’s artistic director and “told him, ‘You’re always on my mood board.'”

James Dean and Serge Gainsbourg are icons from the past who fascinate Rousteing, while from modern times he has kept an eye on rappers including Drake and Kanye West, and also soccer players from the Paris Saint-Germain club. Indeed, Brazilian player Neymar, who in the fall transferred to Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal, has frequently appeared in the front row of Balmain shows.

“It seems that now athletes also feel more free to be who they want to be and are playing with fashion,” Rousteing said. “They’re becoming really interesting to follow as a style.”

Source: WWD

 

[jeanclaude]

Six suspects for the Balmain theft have been arrested yesterday morning:

Text in original language:

Source: Elle France

Now french police should arrest Olivier, for delivering such hideous clothes for spring 2024...