The Balmain show at Paris fashion week always attracts an extraordinary crowd, and Thursday afternoon’s presentation was no different. It took place in the ornate 19th century townhouse Hôtel Potocki, in a long antechamber lined with columns and floor-to-ceiling tapestries, dimly lit by glittering chandeliers.
The room was thick with shiny people, from rapper Nicki Minaj to former One Directioner Zayn Malik – his hair in a 90s boyband curtains – to a raft of digital “influencers” and fans of the brand. There was a preponderance of toned limbs and tonged, blonde hair and of sparkly bodycon minidresses.
It was surprising, then, to learn that this season 31-year-old designer Olivier Rousteing had been inspired by Nirvana. In notes distributed at the show he celebrated the band’s “powerful music of rebellion” and said: “Those liberating lyrics advised us to ignore guidelines of what’s expected and remain true to ourselves. It’s that same mindset that propels today’s strong women as they march down the runway.”
The notes also pointed out that the designer “was just a kid during Nirvana’s heyday”. He wasn’t claiming to be an expert, then, or aiming to please the purists, but was taking inspiration from what the band meant to him personally. He also claimed as secondary inspiration an idea of powerful women travelling in the “Serengeti, the Far West, Amazonia”.
The show opened with the model of the moment, Gigi Hadid, with gold jewellery on her lips, her hair scraped back into a tight ponytail, braided at the front. The Instagram star wore a T-shirt that veered between orange and brown and a skirt that swished with orange and brown strips over tight, thigh-high brown boots of the kind that have been seen across so many of the catwalks this season.
The gold and brown theme continued across 80 looks on a diverse cast of models, including Jourdan Dunn and Kendall Jenner. It was as maximalist as fashion gets, with animal prints stretched tight across the women’s curves, and fringing and crystals and T-shirts with panels featuring illustrations of lions and wolves, drawn in the hyper-realistic manner that one might imagine appearing on a 1980s heavy metal T-shirt.
There was a repeated motif of an eagle, and a splayed eagle’s wing, that also seemed to speak to the soft rock aesthetic. The soundtrack veered from a cover version of Smells Like Teen Spirit to the kind of electric-guitar-heavy tune found on a Guilty Pleasures compilation.
Speaking backstage after the show, Rousteing said this was a collection about “the new Amazonian” and about “youth” and “power” and “diversity.” He is one of the only people of colour leading a major fashion house and he has always cast his shows diversely. The fact that diversity is still an issue elsewhere in the industry, he said, “is sad. It’s really uncool”.
Balmain punches above its weight in publicity terms thanks to Rousteing, who took over six years ago at the age of 25. His high-cheekboned selfie-friendly face is a social media dream, as is his contacts book, which includes Kim Kardashian and Rihanna. The company’s revenue grew by 50% between 2013 and 2015. Last year it was acquired by Mayhoola, the Qatari investment fund that also owns Valentino, with industry analysts expecting the company to aim for expansion.
