In 2005 Christophe Decarnin became head designer for Balmain. With his innovative talent, he drew in a younger audience and revived the 66-year old fashion house with exquisite mini dresses, ripped tees, graphic skinny jeans and rock-star jackets. Price tags for the label’s designs soared to breath-taking heights, figures starting at 2k for tee’s to a whopping 20k for jackets.
When Decarnin failed to show up for Balmain’s Fall 2011 Runway Show, rumors swirled around the shrouded mystery of his absence. In response to the sudden shift, “Some things are better left unsaid,” as Balmain refused to release any details surrounding Decanin’s departure, leaving fans with only the obvious; that he was no longer with the company.
With much regret, the House of Balmain must revert back to the drawing board with three possible choices:
Option 1: Bring back the vision Balmain’s founder Pierre Balmain had originally begun.
Option 2: Follow the blue print Decarnin left behind.
Or Option 3: Look for another star designer to replace Christophe Decarnin.
In my honest opinion, their second choice seems the best bet for now.
As Balmain picks up the pieces of a post break-up, we will relive all the glorious moments Christophe Decarnin etched in time from 2007 to 2011.
BALMAIN (Spring 2007): A memorable zippered jumpsuit.
BALMAIN (Fall 2007): Emerging successfully, a dragon mini dress.
BALMAIN (Spring 2008): A superb mirror-collarless jacket matched with cargo pants and strappy shoes. Lovely in gray, an embroidered blouse with fringe pants.
BALMAIN (Fall 2008): Rocker-glam metallic cami, skinny graphic zipper pants and fringed booties. Lace mini-dress offers a romantic touch.
BALMAIN (Spring 2009): Raging British military jackets over camisoles with acid-wash shredded jeans and studded sandals. An element of Chanel in a collarless tweed jacket. Ornamented boyfriend blazers and shrunken leather jackets with button-detail.
BALMAIN (Fall 2009): More boyfriend blazers, embellished shirts, black-denim cigarette jeans. An Alexander McQueen-ish metallic mini dress graced the runway, followed by a luxurious blazer-jacket.
BALMAIN (Spring 2010): The rise of the ripped tee remained a strong presence in this collection, along with skinny leather pants and lace-up leather booties. 2009 Balmain British-Theme military jackets with added tassels. Other jacket variations included structured blazers (some with fabric brooches), intricate sequin tops and amazing skinny sequin pants.
BALMAIN (Fall 2010): Classic baroque attire, elaborate mini-dresses, skinny leather pants (in black and red) and detailed jackets.
BALMAIN (Spring 2011): Punk-Rock Chic makes headlines with rips, pins, studs, leather and pointed heels. Studded leather jacket, ripped-pinned tee, skinny zippered leather pants and pointed heels. Leather stud-n-pin jacket duo with sequin cut-off shorts. Equally stunning, a shredded-cotton-sequin tee with graphic zipper pants. Pins-n-studs leather jacket and a ripped-pinned tee. Zipper-leather jacket complimenting Beetle Juice inspired pants. The boyfriend blazer gets a studded makeover and decorative leather shorts with pins-n-studs.
BALMAIN (FALL 2011): Bold metallic pants in a ultra-gold hue hoisted by a skinny studded belt, accessorized with a cotton shirt, fur vest and laced-up suede boots.
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