Olivier Rousteing paraded golden bronze rock chicks down the runway today at the Balmain AW17 show in Paris.
The show opened to Nirvana blasting through the speakers and Gigi Hadid marching forth all gold lips and smokey eyes in an orange and black tie-dye t-shirt. She was closely followed by a fierce looking Kendall Jenner who wouldn’t have looked out of place in an Amazonian army in her deep brown studded armour complete with full leg snake skin boots. All the girls had braids through the tops of their head and their hair slicked back into low ponytails, further adding to the ‘Balmain Army’ effect.
The colour palette was a rich mix of bronze, gold, brown, tan and black with pops of deep chartreuse. Rousteing played with many ideas, often on the same pieces; glittering tassels, cut outs, sheer fabric and studding all playing important roles. Animal prints were also key, with snake skin, crocodile leather, tiger, zebra and leopard all making appearances. Even the t-shirts were printed with the faces of wolves.
The Balmain show was expanded last season and some more commercial pieces were introduced as the label was taken over by Mayhoola (the investment group that owns Valentino). These two factors were still present today as the models sported 80 looks in total, including knitwear and t-shirts; pieces that are both easier on the figure and the wallet than the traditional Balmain heavily embellished skin-tight dresses. There were also a lot more pieces that were cut looser than usual, but then cinched in at the waist by sturdy brown thick obi belts to give the desired effect; all making for a much more versatile collection in general.
However, where Rousteing stepped away from the Maison’s signature embellishment last season, for AW17 it was back in full force. Stand out pieces included a spectacular sweater, with open knit patches, and shining silver embroidered feathers. Also, a selection of heavily embellished, studded, patchwork, longline bomber jackets looked so detailed and extra special.
In each of the pieces, Rousting played with opposites; he mixed hard and soft, fierce and feminine, protection and exposure, and delivered a suite of perfect evening looks for his super-cool Balmain party girls, and maybe a few more looks with wider appeal too.
