I have never really been that big of a fan of Balmain. To me, it has turned into a brand entirely devoted to dressing the queens of Instagram-the Kardashians, and almost neglects the opportunity to attract any other audiences. However, when I heard about the H&M Balmation collection, I was intrigued to see what Olivier Rousteing would design, to create an affordable fashion line for one of high streets biggest global brands in the world. (Whilst still maintaining both H&Ms and Balmain's brand identities). As anyone can probably tell you, I am one of H&Ms biggest fans. It is my go to store for both everyday wear and the odd statement piece for a dressy occasion. If there's one place you will find me, it will be in H&M's jewellery collection, fighting the temptation to purchase another pair of their gorgeous bejewelled pairs of earrings. So as you can tell, I had extremely high hopes for this collection!
Anyway, back to the subject of the highly anticipated event that took place on Tuesday night at 23 Wall Street in New York. Rousteing transformed his raw venue of an old bank into a subway station to really set a narrative scene of busy New York for the event. The event saw the faces of the collection and those whom are notorious to the brand itself, such as Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid and Joan Smalls all strut down the catwalk, presenting Rousteing's new collaborative line for the Swedish label. The collection consisted of sequin jackets and silk tailored suits, paired with tapered trousers in luxurious scarlet red tones and midnight blues, to play on the theme of masculine women's wear and militarism within fashion. The collection, which was shown live on the social networking application, Periscope, also included emerald green dresses which were rhinestoned until there was simply no room left for rhinestones! So as you can imagine, so much effort and detail most have gone into each garment.
One aspect I really do admire about Balmain, is their signature use of bold colours. Rousteing channelled true Balmain brand identity in his designs for the collection by flaunting his models down the runway in gorgeous electric blues and show stopping fuchsias. However, Rousteing still managed to draw attention to those on the catwalk, by pairing each garment with chunky leather fitted belt, to really outline the silhouettes of his army of models.
And that was just the womenswear! It's hard to believe that this collection, will cost only a fraction of Balmain's usual upper market prices when it goes on sale in H&M stores on the 5th November 2015.
Here are some images from Tuesday's event that I have picked out myself. These images, in my opinion are some of the most impressive and remarkable looks straight off the runway. Take a look below!
Olivier Rousteing concluded the catwalk show
Adding on, celebrities and fashion icons such as Ellie Goulding, Alexa Chung and Coco Roche all also made appearances at the event in support of Rousteing, which even saw a surprise performance from the Backstreet Boys, concluding the star studded night with their greatest hits.
Ellie Goulding (above)
The Backstreet Boy's performance at the after party.
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