For SS18, Creative Director at Balmain - the now internationally recognised, Olivier Rousteing - delivered a meditation on his French heritage and the homogenisation of global fashion product in an Americanised consumer landscape.
Prompted to pen his love-letter to Paris after his appearance on a talk show during last year's French election campaign resulted in a flurry of comments on Instagram praising him for his 'perfect French', Rousteing realised that his native French heritage had become lost in a design and celebrity marketplace that's so undoubtedly state-side-centric.
In a bid to re-assert himself as a French designer with French ideas and intuition, Rousteing delivered a slew of nautical inspired designs complete with Breton stripes, and Chanel and Saint Laurent-inspired silhouettes. By no means intended to disparage American fashion or style (with notable US customers ranging from Kim Kardashian and Kanye West to Chrissy Teigen and Rihanna), Rousteing included details borrowed from the classic Americana playbook, delivering a street-ready infusion of Franco-American aesthetic cues ready for a global market.
Balmain SS18 is now available at END.
