Balmain
PARIS, March 4, 2010
By Sarah Mower
Sober, pared-down minimalism? Well, somebody has to kick against it, and there's no more likely a candidate to keep hot and sexy alive than Christophe Decarnin. This season, he's gone Baroque 'n' roll, with a Balmain outing pitched somewhere between Prince's Purple Rain pomp and Louis XIV at Versailles. Gold, brocade, frock coats, Louis-heeled ribbon-laced boots, sequin and lamé dresses galore: Decarnin went for it.Clever move, on lots of levels. For one thing, shifting Balmain away from the distressed MASH-militaria of summer to a classier, dressier theme puts this notoriously expensive collection on a path where the value of the original can be clearly distinguished from the cheap knockoff. This show's highly elaborate, high-collared seventeenth-century cutaway coats and gilded jeans did that. From a cutting-expertise point of view, so did Decarnin's seventies/nineties tailored pantsuits, which showcased the return of the leg-lengthening, over-shoe flared pant. The idea, the designer said, came to him while looking at a seventies photo of a woman "in an impeccable Balmain couture menswear pantsuit," but the spirit was closer to the Tom Ford for Gucci look that is rising as part of the nineties redux theme of the season.
Still, those gold-buttoned pinstripes (albeit with a gold Lurex stripe, in one case) were the closest this collection's ever likely to come to workwear. Really, what the Balmain woman's hooked on is the competitive evening opportunity to flash as much leg and bosom as possible. She'll be thrilled to see there's no wavering in that department. Decarnin's short and tight paillette-smothered dresses kept the faith with the big-shouldered silhouette he's made a signature for several seasons—actually, one too many. A less obvious choice (if that's not a contradiction, in this context) would be the other Balmain mainstay: the long-in-back, short-in-front lamé gown, which still puts everything satisfactorily on display, while registering winter's play on length.
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Fall 2010 Ready-to-Wear
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3.1 Phillip Lim -
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D&G Davidelfin Dennis Basso Derek Lam Devi Kroell Diane von Furstenberg Diesel Black Gold DKNY Dolce & Gabbana Donna Karan Doo.Ri Douglas Hannant Dries Van Noten Dsquared² Duro Olowu -
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Elie Saab Elie Tahari Elise Øverland Emanuel Ungaro Emilio Pucci Emporio Armani Erdem Erin Fetherston Erin Wasson x RVCA Etro -
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Fashion East Fendi Francesco Scognamiglio -
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Gabriele Colangelo Gap Gareth Pugh Gary Graham Generra Giambattista Valli Gianfranco Ferré Giles Giorgio Armani Givenchy Graeme Armour G-Star Gucci -
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Haider Ackermann Halston Helmut Lang Hermès Hervé Léger by Max Azria Holly Fulton House of Holland -
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Iceberg Isaac Mizrahi Isabel Marant Issa Issey Miyake -
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Karen Walker Karl Lagerfeld Kenzo Kimberly Ovitz Kinder Aggugini Koi Suwannagate -
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L.A.M.B. L'Wren Scott Lacoste Lanvin Lela Rose Limi Feu Loewe Louise Goldin Louise Gray Louis Vuitton Luca Luca Luisa Beccaria Lutz & Patmos Lyn Devon -
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Naeem Khan Nanette Lepore Narciso Rodriguez Nathan Jenden Neil Barrett Nicolas Andreas Taralis Nicole Farhi Nicole Miller Nina Ricci No. 21 -
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Ohne Titel Organic by John Patrick Oscar de la Renta Osman -
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Paris 68 Paul Smith Pedro Lourenço Peter Jensen Peter Pilotto Peter Som Philosophy Pollini Ports 1961 PPQ Prabal Gurung Prada Preen Pringle of Scotland Proenza Schouler -
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Sacai Salvatore Ferragamo Sharon Wauchob Shipley & Halmos Sonia Rykiel Sophia Kokosalaki Sophie Theallet Stærk Stella McCartney Stephen Burrows Suno Sykes -
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Undercover United Bamboo -
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Valentino Vanessa Bruno Vena Cava Vera Wang Véronique Leroy Versace Versus Victoria Beckham Viktor & Rolf Vionnet Vivienne Tam Vivienne Westwood Vivienne Westwood Red Label VPL -
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Wayne William Rast Wunderkind -
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Y-3 Yigal Azrouël Yohji Yamamoto Yves Saint Laurent -
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Zac Posen Zero + Maria Cornejo
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