Balmain to return to the Paris couture catwalks

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Oct 31, 2018

The house of Balmain will return to the Paris haute couture season with a show on the official calendar next January.

 
The move will be a significant boost to the Paris couture season, as it marks the return of one of the most storied houses in French fashion history. Balmain last staged a couture back in 2002 when Oscar de la Renta was its couturier. Under its current dynamic creative director Olivier Rousteing, Balmain has become one of the must-see runway shows of the Paris ready-to-wear season. Though a couture show takes any brand to a higher level of status.
 
The house’s return couture show will be timed to celebrate the opening of a new Balmain flagship on a famed Paris shopping artery, at 374 rue Saint Honoré.

Though the date is still to be confirmed, a spokesman for the house explained that the couture show will be staged inside the new flagship, a significantly large space encompassing 750 square meters.
 
“Olivier believes that this is a very logical progression, as couture is very much part of the DNA of the house Balmain,” said Txampi Diz, the house’s chief marketing officer.
 
Back in the January couture season in Paris this year, Rousteing unveiled 10 couture-quality eveningwear looks entitled 44 rue François 1er, named for the house’s historic address. However, next January will be a fully-fledged couture collection.
 
“With the entry of so many young couture houses into couture, it only felt right that Balmain was present. Olivier considers that especially at a moment when everyone is doing streetwear, it’s vital to remind ourselves that luxury is about craftmanship, quality and clothes along with a certain level of savoir faire,” insisted Diz.
 
Balmain was acquired by Mayhoola for Investments, the investment fund backed by the royal family of Qatar, in June 2016. The new owners have helped finance a serious studio and atelier at Balmain, capable of making couture, sometimes known as the locomotive of fashion.
 
“In effect, many of our ready-to-wear looks were already really couture anyway. Olivier’s studio has become a true laboratory of new technique and fabrics,” added Diz.