BALMAIN DRAMATIC EXUBERANCE
Balmain’s Fall Winter 2024-2025 Menswear Collection debuted at Paris Men Fashion Week on January 2024. The collection was described as “a riot of colour” and “luxury, but it’s definitely not quiet”. The collection included imaginative layering and complex outerwear items.
Balmain’s collections are frequently inspired by music. Rousteing is inspired by music’s melodies and beats, and the messages frequently play an important role in the collections. Rousteing’s favourite musicians are frequently the subject of advertisements.
Balmain is famed for its craftsmen’s expertise, which is visible in the smallest details. These elements include finely quilted leathers, elaborate embroideries, sophisticated weavings, excellent pleating, amazing corsetry, and a lot of delicate stitching.
Naomi Campbell, the eponymous world-renowned model, finished up the Balmain menswear presentation at Paris Fashion Week with elegance and refinement.
Campbell walked down the runway in a big, baggy camel coat that she easily slung over her shoulders. She wore it with a long sleeve camel-colored shirt, black pants, and black patent leather shoes, which also included a daringly plunging blouse and high-waisted trousers.
The Magnum opus was a spectacular gold headdress that went in a single straight line from the top of her head down below her chin, as well as fake gold arms attached to a belt that held a metallic bouquet.
Naomi Campbell wore a surrealist belt fastened with two hands wrapped around a golden bouquet of flowers, and she looked sensational in the unusual outfit.
Following her are a group of models, each dressed in a distinctive costume that represents the collection’s opulent and avant-garde essence. From rich materials to sharp shapes, the runway collection showcases Balmain’s commitment to fusing high fashion with edgy, street-inspired elements. This photograph captures a pivotal moment in high fashion history, with Campbell representing the famed label’s grace and assertiveness.
Balmain’s collection included pop art created using AI-generated fabric. Despite its boldness, Campbell’s design was described as one of the show’s most minimalist looks, as “every look down the runway this weekend was bold, futuristic, and head turning.” The collection was an amalgam of pattern mixing, with bright oranges, reds, and purples interacting with polka dots, stripes, and prints.
After a four-year sabbatical from a major menswear presentation, Rousteing made an unforgettable impression on the fashion scene, showing his flamboyant style and pushing the frontiers of luxury. Under the brilliant lights, the runway was alive with sophisticated methods, opulent decorations, and an unabashed celebration of uniqueness. Olivier Rousteing, Balmain’s creative director said with high excitement, “Luxury has many meanings, And this is screaming luxury.”
The opening AI-generated visage translated onto a crystal topcoat set the tone for what was to come: sophisticated technique and excessive ornamentation combined to produce eye-catching clothing. Lip cummerbunds, brooches, jacquard suiting, shirt prints, and monochromatic designs on bombers and shirts, as well as some incredible pavé-crystal bracelets and lip-toed shoes, provided a top-to-bottom riposte.
The designer unveiled joint works with artists Prince Gyasi and Ibby Njoya. Gyasi’s intriguing paintings were printed on clothes, converting them into wearable artwork. He transitioned into a tribute to Congo’s sartorial cult, the sapeurs. Rousteing showcased massively shouldered and high-waisted styles in full-wattage colour combinations. Next up was a print partnership with Accra-based Prince Gyasi. Rousteing printed his photographs on textiles and transformed them into clothing; look 38’s triptych was inspired by a Gyasi photograph.
Another collaboration, with Cameroonian Ibby Njoya, turned bags and small hard cases into adorably cute baggage, displaying the marriage of fashion and art.
An inverted tulip-hemmed coat with layers of white cashmere arranged to create an eye was a standout piece in a suite of tailoring that draped with crisp and precise elegance.
Olivier Rousteing, always making big bold remarks, emphasized, “I’m not a quiet man.” This emotion echoed throughout the whole collection, as he went on a quest to redefine luxury with a bombastic flourish.
In a humorous homage to his own distinguishing features, Rousteing used lips as a major element throughout the collection. The designer embraced the rumours, creating a collection that was both statement and celebration.
