Balmain’s creative director Olivier Rousteing did not design his autumn/ winter 22 collection as a direct response to the suffering of our European neighbours (he couldn’t have, collections are worked on months in advance), and yet his theme of protection and power felt timely.
Acknowledging on Instagram in advance of last night’s show in Paris that “it’s hard to feel right about focusing on runways and clothes, as we listen with a heavy heart to the latest news,” Rousteing delivered a strong collection that marked a refreshed aesthetic for the brand.
In a palette largely comprising whites and creams, the new Balmain look majored in armour-like dresses and corsets, chainmail tops and golden breastplates.
Rousteing was reflecting on the burns which an accident last year had left him with, and the way negative comments on social media had made him nervous to be open about his scars. Coming out of that, the 36-year-old designer decided the only way to respond to online trolling is to “face it head on—addressing it with honesty and clarity, while drawing courage from the support and love of others. That was a breakthrough moment for me, a radical change of behaviour that I can only describe as being truly liberating.”
While the clothes had strength and shielding properties, Rousteing seemed to have freed himself from the confines of the highly-sexed, spangly Balmain Army aesthetic that has preoccupied previous collections (and is much loved by the likes of Beyoncé and Kylie Jenner for a red carpet moment). Instead he had created something that felt more complex, more considered.
A celebration of contrasts that paired lace and other light and fragile fabrics with heavy metal and thick neoprene, Balmain AW22 felt like a coming-of-age - that, and a message of solidarity and strength.
“I would never dare to even think of comparing the suffering that they are going through right now with the problems that I have had with social media,” said Rousteing. “Still, as we watch the news, my team and I do keep in mind this collection’s message: united in solidarity, we can rely on the power of hope and truth to push back against hate, lies and aggression.”
