Balmain Pre-Fall 2024
Olivier Rousteing last visited Miami more than 10 years ago, but its “endless summer” vibe continues to seduce him — so much so that he made it the main inspiration for Balmain’s pre-fall 2024 collection.
The house’s creative director continues to mind-meld with founder Pierre Balmain, who was so fascinated with Florida’s tropical atmosphere that he incorporated flamingo and palm-tree motifs into his couture collections in the ’50s. Ditto Rousteing, who also revisited his resort 2013 collection for Balmain with its South Beach palette and the strong shoulders seen in the ’90s crime drama “Miami Vice” starring Don Johnson.
More from WWD
“I just wanted to bring some joy and color into the fashion industry,” Rousteing said, shrugging his shoulders inside his big black teddy bear of a coat.
This was a smooth, confident collection with enough couture-calibre silhouettes and glittering palm-tree embellishments to keep open the checkbooks of Balmain’s VICs, and enough house icons — Breton stripes, tweeds and strong-shouldered tailoring — to appeal to a broader fashion public.
Rousteing squared off the shoulders of bicolor cardigan jackets for her, and tuxedo jackets for him, paved in thousands upon thousands of gleaming, square sequins. You could immediately detect Miami’s famous Art Deco architecture in the vivid colorblocking worked into lapels, and the patterns on deliberately worn-looking varsity jackets.
But there was also plenty of graphic black and white, including stripes and harlequin patterns, which look crisp in sunny weather.
Rousteing noted that Balmain’s pre-fall clothes land in stores next May, leaving many months of wearing time until any substantial chill arrives in the Northern Hemisphere.
The designer is plumping to see more men embrace tweed, carving the heavily textured material into roomy coats and hoodies, as well as varsity, cardigan and biker-style jackets.
Meanwhile, his densely beaded flamingo dresses are a peck in the eye to the quiet luxury trend, and a feat of workmanship and lighthearted artistry that would look right at home at Art Basel Miami Beach.
Launch Gallery: Balmain Pre-Fall 2024
Best of WWD
Solve the daily Crossword
