Balmain's Fall/Winter 2024 Collection: A Homage to Schiaparelli's Design

Although he mentioned it in Fall 2020 menswear as part of his wilder and more personal story, Olivier Rousteing dedicated an entire collection to his native home of Bordeaux for the first time in 13 years at Balmain. It was also a love letter to Lydia Rousteing, his adopted mother, who nurtured the young designer in the city with husband Bruno-Jean before moving to Paris to study fashion (before quickly leaving to work for Roberto Cavalli).

Balmain Fall/Winter 2024 Collection | Flawless Magazine

"My mom came here today and she loved the looks," he said backstage before the concert. "And she brought back childhood memories for me. She was always dressed in a trench coat—very French—and we'd have picnics on the meadow with a gingham blanket." If last month's menswear show was inspired by Rousteing's African heritage, this clothing sequel reflected his identity as a Bordelais. The Dionysian abundance of grapes that bloomed throughout the collection reflected the region's most recognized product, Cru Bourgeois wines.  They hung from hands in fearsome bunch bags made of metal, coiled around the body as inlaid shapes in a peplum-defined black leather dress, nestled in glass and metal beading on bodices, were printed on black or purple silk dresses, trenches, and tailoring, and came woven in the patterned fabrication of ruffle hemmed or floor-length tapestry dresses.

COURTESY OF SCHIAPARELLI

Rousteing's second territorial ornamental reference was the main element of Escargots à la Bordelaise. The brittle twisting helix of a snail shell was fashioned into a massive fossilized golden breastplate, a bodice, earrings, or embellishments for belts and bags.

These signatures appeared on numerous trench coat remixes, all of which featured the same fearsome buttons as Rousteing's iconic blazers. The trench was reinforced with strong shoulders, deconstructed into a hooded crop top and skirt, recreated as Pierre Balmain's nipped-waist and flute-hipped Jolie Madame shape, or sliced into leather. Gingham, a surface reflection of Rousteing's long-tumultuous and now settled internal duality (together with that picnic blanket), was replicated in monochrome or navy, with silver crystal overlapping stripes on dresses. Some dresses and tops featured wickedly pointed and exaggerated peak lapels on the left side, trimmed with additional metal for more emphasis; these were occasionally worn over ruched wide pants Rousteing said were inspired by a 1960s Judo-inspired model produced by the founder.

Balmain-branded net grocery bags half-filled with artificial fruit were among the touching elements that highlighted the collection's central theme of domestic nostalgia. Another striking aspect was the age difference in the casting, which you didn't have to be named Sigmund to suspect could be related to this collection's relationship to Rousteing's childhood. However, he emphasized that this was more than just a memoir: "You know, it's really nice to see all these incredible fashion shows all over the world, but they're often the same models." I sometimes get the impression that models are uniform, and we should use caution. Because we celebrate the beauty of difference." That last line exemplifies Rousteing's design ethic, which translates the lessons of his experience and expertise into such specific and fantastic pieces of fashion.

The Shocking Substance of Schiaparelli