Rousteing rounded up his super-vixen troops in Paree today for a show that quickly got underway in the same vein as his previous few Balmain show-stoppers. A lot of the models present and accounted for were in fact some of the designer’s biggest fans and friends, who eagerly assemble to walk the Balmain glamour walk at Rousteing’s beckon call. Make no mistakes though, it’s all about the clothes to him, but personalities are always a plus. To the delight of his loyal female supporters, his power (something that rhymes with) witch aesthetic was enacted in full force and in the most graphic arsenal of staunch gestures that we’ve seen since, well, AW14.
The exaggerated she-woman staples featured sharp square shoulders of jackets tossed over shoulders with biting attitude, stern banding of the body and dangerously high waists. It’s a given that Rousteing likes to pump all of his passion for form into the waist, with the rest of each respective glitzy carapace, be it a dress or a trouser suit, virtually extending from the midriff.
For a house which firmly maintains the upkeep of a heritage which can be traced back to a creator who originally trained as an architect, Balmain is doing well by daring to put such emphasis on construction. If Pierre Balmain epitomised full-skirted post-war decadence along with his contemporaries, comparably, Rousteing certainly knows how to pack a punch with his luxe renditions of albeit recent-retro designs that strike a chord with 2014’s irreverent youth.
by Liam Feltham
Images courtesy of Style.com