Pierre Balmain (Q8902)
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
No description defined
- PIERRE BALMAIN
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Pierre Balmain |
No description defined |
|
Statements
The fashion exhibitionPunk: Chaos to Couturemight have ended its run at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but fashion's obsession with that unintentionally stylish movement will never subside. Or, at least, that's what the house of Pierre Balmain is betting on for Spring. The design team, which presented its collection in digital format again this season, created a range of layering basics that included lace-up leather leggings for women, tanks with stretched-out armholes for guys, and white jeans for everyone.If white jeans don't sound very punk, that's because the whole thing was polished up with clean, early-nineties accents. A cutoff black denim mini and fishnet tights, for instance, were matched with a sexy, cool black cropped turtleneck and a white broad-shouldered cotton blazer. An oversize motorcycle jacket was layered over a mini with a cutout neckline—perfect for Cindy Crawford in her Pepsi-girl days. And for the men, a utilitarian white shirt—short sleeves, collarless—was worn with black jeans and the ultimate punk accessory: a studded belt.A few items—a sweater with a ripped-up collar, a holey sweatshirt—might have taken the theme a bit too far. After all, a real rebel lets that sort of decay happen on its own. But for those with punk in their hearts, not their bank accounts, Pierre Balmain could be the new go-to brand.
5 September 2013
Our review will be posted shortly. See the complete collection by clicking the image at left.
7 February 2013
After a sweet Spring, Pierre Balmain re-embraced its rebel side for Fall. The label, sister of big Balmain but designed separately, let it be known via press notes that this season was informed by a sixties spin. Emma Peel, the leather-suited heroine ofThe Avengers, was mentioned. And yes, there was leather, plenty of it: shirts, dresses, stretch pants. If the slinkier bits were short and tight, the outerwear trended large: wool capes (there are those sixties, then), oversize bikers, a double-breasted greatcoat for Peel's gentleman partner in crime (or crime-fighting, but the line's a fine one). The whole held together nicely, given that black usually tends to go with black, and leather with leather. Any criticism more directed than that would feel nitpicky. Pierre Balmain is fashion-as-fun. Besides, as the first of this season's Digital Fashion Shows, it's the first to do away with the boundary that once separated the critics from the public. Now anyone can watch, embed, share, and stream this show and those like it. It's everyone's collection now. Make of it what you will.
7 February 2013
Pierre Balmain was founded as a sister line to Balmain. Judging by Spring, the family tree is branching. The recognizable signatures of Balmain—rock 'n' roll, embellishment, luxury, and urbane cool—were mostly absent here. Instead, Pierre Balmain turned out to be a sweet collection aimed at gamines and their would-be worldwide counterparts. (It can't be an accident that the digital fashion show the brand streamed today was taped from a runway outing in Beijing, cast with largely Asian models.) The clothes were a fantasy of polite bourgeois chic, with cropped, tapered trousers, flared skirts, and peplum-accented tops. Even perforated peekaboo pieces and a smattering of motorcycle jackets didn't add much edge. Arguably, they didn't need to. Related or not, Pierre Balmain is a separate line from Balmain and designed by a separate team from its sibling. But this collection marked a change from the label's first two seasons, when it served as a wanted and needed entry point for aspiring Balmainiacs on a budget. You sense that this member of the family is still forming her identity.
9 September 2012
The diffusion line Pierre Balmain seems to have settled comfortably into its role as little sister to Balmain. Well, perhaps second or third cousin might be more apt. The new Fall collection skews even more to the essential, basics side of things than the label's debut last season, making it a rather distant relation to the entirely nonessential, go-for-broke luxury of the main line. One of the few bling-y flourishes amid the polite street wear was a nailhead embroidery, quite chic in pencil skirt or leggings, and quite skippable in a draped and sheer body-con dress. It tried too hard, and that doesn't seem to be what this line is about. What the girls will clamor to buy: a perfect motorcycle jacket in black leather, and another version in ivory wool lengthened into a car coat with a shearling hem. No piggy bank busting necessary.
4 March 2012