Balmain

Olivier Rousteing has been the voice for the new generation for the Balmain house for the past couple of seasons, bringing the well established house to the celebrity and pop culture scene and becoming one of the most sought-after brands by the younger generation. 

Being no stranger to the modern age of celebrity, pop culture and social media presence, Rousteing, took to the biggest and fastest growing online social media platform to day, TikTok, to live stream the presentation to millions of people all around the globe, setting the bar high up once more, while also using the unique hashtag #BalmainSurSiene to further establish the brand’s presence across all online platforms.

This grand fashion presentation for his latest Haute Couture collection, took place on board of a boat cruising on the emblematic Parisian Siene river, where he and a group of models, crew and the female french pop singer Yseult put on a show. This extravagant presentation cruised the Siene for two hours along some of Paris’s most iconic architectural structures. From the Eiffel tower to the “Pont des Arts” footbridge, the “Île Saint Louis” and back to the “Iron Lady”.

The presentation was a tribute to Paris, “After 75 years, Balmain is showing a new direction. We gave people access to our house, and we showed that we are really French. It was our gift to Paris, the City of Light.”, said Rousteing. This was a museum like exhibition, were not only the new pieces of the latest collection were showcased, but also some iconic pieces from the Balmain archive were placed on display, this was Olivier’s way to pay tribute to the past figures that made the Balmain maison the iconic house that it is today, his predecessors, Eric Mortensen and Oscar de la Renta. Some of Rousteing’s previous work was also displayed along side the new garments.

The garments demonstrated Olivier’s well known craftsmanship and attention to detail, emblematic, meticulous embroidery work that is now part of the Balmain statement. Throughout the collection we see a slight incline to a more minimal approach with the introduction of menswear pieces, clean cut jackets and monochromatic black & white ensembles the evoke the 90’s elegance.

The event suffered some technical difficulties with the livestream, which lasted only for a few minutes after sailing off, offering only but a glimpse to the viewers, but the presentation is set to re-stream on the Federation de la Haute Couture website on Saturday.