BALMAIN Fall/Winter 2014/15

Almost the best part of the Balmain show was hearing Olivier Rousteing’s spontaneous emotional speech about his identity as a young, black, French designer. 

“I’m screaming it loud. It’s all about ethnicity and freedom,” he said, taking a deep breath, backstage. “I am 28 years old. I’m proud of having Rihanna as my friend. I’m proud of having all those girls of different cultures modeling for me. Sometimes, it’s not necessary to go to Miami or Vegas, or the fifties or sixties for inspiration you can just look around you. I’m showing that this is me. I’m part of my generation.”

Balmain's Creative Director, Olivier Rousteing's words provide the interpretation for this collection which celebrates the freedom and self-confidence of today's women, contemporary muses who are able to connect their style with the many-sided zeitgeist of our times.

"Since the start of my collaboration with Balmain in 2011, I always drew inspiration from the archives, taking cues from the work of artists I love and conjuring the charm of exotic suggestions. For this collection, instead, I consider what is close to me, what is current and involves myself and my generation. It's a personal vision that touches me deeply".

A collection of statement shoulders and cinched waists outline the silhouette, the one for fall/winter 2014/15. The hips are emphasized by peplums layered over narrow pencil skirts. Sahariana jackets are characterized by generous proportions and are styled with cargo pants in fluid satin. Slim-line dresses are fashioned out of elaborate combinations of trim and textures. An experimental take on surfaces which are decorated with elaborate embellishments and embroideries.

Rousteing’s world is a generation away from the last days of disco. His is the consciousness of hip-hop pop, and that connects him with what’s happening on the street, the hundreds of dressed-up Parisian girls and boys of every ethnicity who’d gathered on the street outside the Hôtel de Ville show venue in the hopes of glimpsing Rihanna were shrieking, jumping-up-and-down proof of that.

Rousteing’s runway, led by Jourdan Dunn in an oversize khaki leather jacket, satin cargo pants, and giant gold hoop earrings, had a sound track that said it all: a 50 Cent remix by Timbaland and Justin Timberlake (i.e., a merge of nineties and now). It read as a continuation of Rousteing’s pre-fall, which was triggered by Peter Beard’s photographs of Iman and the designer’s aforementioned childhood hero-worship of 50 Cent. In other words, it was a controlled, highly worked mash-up of Masai-inspired heavy beadwork, latticed leather, zebra prints, draped tailoring, and big, quilted biker-derived jackets.

Discover the BALMAIN F/W '14/15 runway show at the end of this post! LoL, Andrea

Olivier Rousteing

Selections by ANDREA JANKE Finest Accessories

Photo Credit / Source: VOGUE

Photography: Stills - Kevin Tachman;
Runway - Monica Feudi (FeudiGuaineri.com)

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'Imperial Colours by Blumarine Fall/Winter 2014/15'

Kimono designs are intended to show the wearers enjoyment in the Fall/Winter '14/15 seasonal flora and fauna. The embroidered gold Asian flowers that spread over Blumarine’s fall collection could, at first glance, represent the holiday season, but one had the feeling that, for Anna Molinari, their sparkle was more about the essence of rock-star glamor or indeed a geisha-at-large.

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