Balmain: A Banker’s Jeans

 
Oh Balmain’s Christophe Decarnin is so cool he doesn’t even have a show for the men’s collection. And for those expecting glittery Liberace jackets to match Blamain’s high wattage Las Vegas showgirls on a dirt bike look, forget it.  The Balmain man is simple, understated, and highly desirable.  Decarnin was on hand at the showroom to talk about the collection for which he is the muse.  T’s covered with pin holes, old time Le Coq Sportif-style polos, pull-on leather biker pants as soft as warmups, white collar fine blue and white stripe shirts, and single button bias gabardine blazers with old fashioned gold buttons have great proportions and textures, but somehow manage to look almost undesigned. Decarnin does jeans in banker’s pinstripes and herringbone prints “because I don’t like wool, it itches too much.” The jackets have just one button because he never buttons his jackets. And there’s a holey jean that you can slip over the leather biker warm-ups because he’s a biker and was always looking for something like that. OK, the Balmain jeans have been known to cost over $1,600, but if you just keep wearing them and wearing them and…

SEE ALL OF INTERVIEW’S FALL/WINTER 2010 MENS COVERAGE FROM PARIS…