Balmain is the French fashion house that dresses women in a style that is elegant, casual and sexy, opulent and structured.
Balmain has known many artistic directors who have taken him to great heights or to oblivion. However, each artistic director has tried to perpetuate the legacy of his creator.
Discover the history of Balmain in this article.
The birth of Balmain
Balmain was created by Pierre Balmain in Paris in 1945. Pierre Balmain was born in Saint-Jean-de-Mauricienne in Savoie. He began his career in fashion at Molyneux, before joining Lucien Lelong's fashion house in 1939. Here he met Christian Dior, who became his friend.
Shortly afterwards, during the Second World War, from 1939 to 1941, he was mobilized to fight against the Germans.
On his return, something clicked: he created a little crepe dress called Petit Profit. However, its director Lucien Lelong didn't want it, and it was a huge success, selling over 360 copies.
In 1945, with the war over, he decided to to create his own fashion house called Balmain, with the help of his mother and the Balenciaga seamstresses who followed him to Paris's 8th arrondissement.
In creating his house, he wanted to breathe new life into fashion after the Second World War by giving women a bold, modern and sophisticated style.
Thanks to the distinctive style of his collections, he became the darling of European and Hollywood celebrities.
At the same time, he developed fragrances such as This was followed by "ELYsées 64-83" in 1947, "Vent Vert", and "Jolie Madame" in 1949, which was also the name of her Autumn-Winter collection of 1952-1953. This was the birth of Jolie Madame, the symbol of the '50s.
International fame and death of Pierre Balmain
In 1950, Balmain was worn by Audrey Hepburn and Brigitte Bardot. Thanks to these stars, the brand acquired a certain prestige: close-fitting suits, strapless dresses and puffed skirts invaded the American market. Thanks to his success, Pierre Balmain travels the world and dresses the most famous women.
He also designed the costumes for the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City.
In the 1970s, he moved into ready-to-wear and found great success.
In 1982, at the height of his creative career, Pierre Balmain died of an incurable disease.
The house then hired Erik Mortensen, a Danish couturier, to take over. Despite the designer's efforts, the house struggled to recover from the loss of its creator: he stayed on for eight years. Then Hervé Pierre Braillard took over, but again without much success.
Renewal, Oscar de la Renta
In 1992, Oscar de la Renta took over as Artistic Director of the brand, bringing a new lease of life to the House of Balmain.
Oscar de la Renta creates sophisticated designs, opulent taffeta and satin dresses, adorned with cascades of ruffles and ruching, to mark the renewal and appeal to new personalities such as Nancy Reagan and Ivana Trump.
Forgotten for 4 years
In 2002, Oscar de la Renta left the company, plunging it once again into a period of turmoil.
Two people succeed Oscar de la Renta, but no one matches the genius of this couturier.
Four years pass, and a new designer is hired: Christophe Decarnin.
Christophe Decarnin, the new credibility
A former stylist with Paco Rabanne, Christophe Decarnin joined Balmain in 2006. He revisits Pierre Balmain classics, bringing a breath of fresh glamour. He modernizes silhouettes, making them shorter and adorned with sequins (Glitter).
Christophe Decarnin develops his style for the "sexy, glamorous woman with a rock spirit".
Stars such as Sharon Stone, Rihanna, Marion Cotillard... are fond of his creations.
Even Michael Jackson, a few months before his death, paid tribute to Christophe Decarnin's talent by wearing his famous jacket.
However, in 2011, Christophe Decarnin left Balmain due to burn out.
The brilliant Olivier Rousteing
In 2011, Olivier Rousteing took over the house and was appointed Artistic Director at just 24 years of age.
Olivier Rousteing, originally from Bordeaux, studied fashion in Paris. Seven months after the start of the school year, he decided to leave everything behind to go to Italy and discover Italian culture, la Dolce Vita.
During his trip, he did an internship at a fashion house in Rome, then moved on to Milan and Florence, where he approached a number of companies including Versace, Gucci and Cavalli. Olivier Rousteing was contacted by Cavalli, who offered him an internship.
Over time, he rose through the ranks to become a designer for men and women at Cavalli. Then, in 2009, he was called in by Balmain to work alongside Christophe Decarnin.
In 2011, it's the consecration. He was appointed Artistic Director of Balmain.
Balmain and Olivier Rousteing
He reinterprets the house's codes, always highlighting the woman to make her even more glamorous and sexy at the same time.
Each of his collections is an event in the world of fashion.
Olivier Rousteing has succeeded not only in establishing himself in the industry, but also in building the reputation of the Balmain fashion house, including internationally. In fact, he counts among his friends a host of pop culture stars with a huge following, especially on social networks: Kim Kardashian and the entire Kardashian clan, Kanye West, Rihanna, Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Gigi Hadid and other Victoria Secret models, ...and so on. He knows how to surround himself with the best!
Olivier Rousteing knows how to use social networks to reach new people who are not necessarily interested in the brand.
"I was born with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Skype. The fact is, I love communicating with people. I love pop culture, and the word 'pop' for me refers to popular and people."
Balmain has thus become one of the most followed brands on Instagram.
Olivier Rousteing has remained true to the house style established by Pierre Balmain, perpetuating his legacy.
