(Clockwise from top: AFP/Getty Images; Casablanca Records; AFP/Getty Images(2); Getty Images (2); Hulton Archive/Getty Images.)
Cheat Sheet is a cocktail-party primer guaranteed to boost your style IQ.
Who
The 44-year-old designer now at the helm of the 63-year-old French fashion house Balmain.
What he’s known for
Embellished necklines and short hemlines.
Fringe, appliqués and all manner of adornment.
Sequins, chain mail, and a skin-tight silhouette.
Where he gets his ideas
For fall 2008: Kiss, Billy Idol and Michael Jackson.
Fan base
Stick-legged fashionistas like French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld and hi-pro stylists like George Cortina; Holly Brubach, former style editor of the Times, says, “Christophe Decarnin has
taken Balmain away from its roots in the soigné style of the 16th arrondisement and moved it in a bolder, more contemporary direction.”
May ’06: Audrey Tatou (above, far left) & Sofia Coppola, Cannes Film Festival
Nov ’07: Celine Dion, American Music Awards
Jan ’08: Kate Hudson, SAG Awards
April ’08: Gwyneth Paltrow (above left), Iron Man premiere
May ’08: Christina Ricci, Speed Racer premiere
May ’08: Tamara Mellon, Cannes Film Festival
Inside scoop
Rumor has it that Decarnin will unveil his first men’s collection in June during men’s fashion week in Paris, but sources say later in the year is more realistic.
Balmain before Decarnin
Pierre Balmain founded the house in the fall of 1945, right after WWII.
Known for his eveningwear, Balmain once declared, “dressmaking is the architecture of movement.”
Oscar de la Renta helmed the house from 1992 to 2001.
The house of Balmain was out of commission from 2003 until Decarnin was appointed in late 2005.
Decarnin before Balmain
Before Balmain, Decarnin spent seven years as head designer of ready-to-wear at Paco Rabanne — which might explain his penchant for metallics.
Born in the resort town of Le Touquet, Decarnin hit Paris at the age of 17 to study at ESMOD, Paris’s most prestigious fashion school.
Talking points
Microminis, thigh-high slits and drainpipe pants are great for photo shoots and off-duty models but in the real world they aren’t terribly practical — or forgiving.
Decarnin’s last collection, with a nod to ’80s rock, was a bit much for some. Adrian Corsin, scribe of the well-trafficked Fashion Verbatim blog, chided, “I give you my faith and you give me slashed zebra
gowns? Even Cavalli’s offended.”