On a catwalk that resembled a jungle, Olivier Rousteing presented his SS17 collection for the house – here’s what happened
There’s three things we can expect from a Balmain show: a front row filled with A-list celebrities, a catwalk filled with supermodels and Olivier Rousteing’s signature brand of glamour. True to expectation, we got all three at this afternoon’s show at Paris Fashion Week – here’s what went down.
THE FRONT ROW
Obviously there was a Kardashian presence at the show: Kim, Khloe and Kris sat front row along with model and wife of the former President of France Carla Bruni, Valentino’s partner Giancarlo Giammetti and male models slash Balmain Army members Jon Kortajarena, Baptiste Giabiconi and Gigi and Bella Hadid’s younger brother Anwar. Giammetti’s presence was particularly interesting given that Valentino’s parent company Mayhoola purchased Balmain for a cool €485 million earlier this year.
THE COLLECTION
This season, Rousteing’s theme had something to do with the jungle. The catwalk was green and there was a large amount of plant foliage (palm fronds and the like) suspended above it. As for the collection, it came in predominantly earthy colours – greens and browns – along with flashes of tropical colours, stripes that looked vaguely South American-inspired, and a lot of python skin. With the floaty dresses, it all felt a bit “Kate Bush goes to the rainforest.”
THE DIAMONDS AND GOLD
Of course it wouldn’t be a Balmain show without a sense of opulence and this season that came in the form of glittering gowns in gold and silver lamé (case in point, Gigi’s look – see above), and jewel-toned dresses encrusted with sequins.
NATASHA POLY OPENED THE SHOW
As the music began, the first model emerged on the catwalk and it was none other than Russian supermodel Natasha Poly wearing a layered gown stroke short and legging twinset in bronze.
AND A STRING OF BIG-TIME MODELS FOLLOWED...
For models wanting to be in the Balmain Army, there are a couple of requirements that must be met: you need to be strong and powerful, to be beautiful in quite classical way, and have a pop culture crossover / large social media following / Victoria’s Secret contract. This was demonstrated at today’s show where Gigi Hadid took to the runway, along with industry icons Doutzen Kroes and Alessandra Ambrosio; and VS girls Cindy Bruna, Lais Ribeiro (pictured) and Sara Sampaio.
