BALMAIN SPRING 2014

BALMAIN SPRING 2014

Overalls at Balmain? Two years ago, when Olivier Rousteing stepped into his creative director role, it was bling, baby, bling. 

But after a Fall show that often landed on the wrong side of audacious, Rousteing is reconsidering the house's signature intense beading. "I wanted to explore something casual and sporty," he shared backstage. "It's less evening and more real. It's more me."

Cue Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Relax" on the soundtrack and the first look out—a cardigan, of all things, belted over a ruffled skirt that fell all the way to the knees.

True, it was black leather, but a skirt that grazes the models' knees qualifies as headline news at Balmain. And there was more where that came from, including quilted bombers, sweatshirts, and baseball tees.

We're not saying that Rousteing gave up entirely on glitz. Not at all. The silhouettes were more relaxed than usual, but there was still plenty happening on the surface of things.

For Spring, he likes pied-de-poule in black and white and Vichy prints in baby blue or pink, accented with necklaces and wrestler's belts. 

Denim got the deluxe treatment, quilted and trimmed in chunky gold chain, or reproduced in a silk print. 

Crystals came in at the end, but because they're so familiar at Balmain, they felt predictable. Best in show was a pair of those overalls fitted all the way up above the bust in glossy black leather.

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BALAMAIN RESORT 2014

BALMAIN RESORT 2014
 balmain's showroom today was thick with buyers and models showing off the skinny jeans, second-skin tees, and body-worshipping minidresses that the French label is known for. But designer Olivier Rousteing was busy pulling clothes off the racks with not just a new silhouette but also a different sensibility. 

 The houndstooth tweed overalls were the biggest surprise, their boyish slouch summing up the relaxed new vibe Rousteing was going for. 

"I always love the dream, the fantasy, but at the end of the day, reality is important," he said. "As a designer, you need to push yourself. After five seasons, I wanted to go to another story." He's got the party girl hooked, in other words, but what about when she's not partying? In addition to those overalls (guaranteed crowd-pleasers, considering salopettes are trending with the street-style set), his other propositions included dentelle button-downs tucked into pleated menswear trousers barely clinging to the models' hipbones, oversize bombers with confectionery embellishments, and, in a first for the brand, flat boots. In quilted black leather and metallic toe caps, natch.

 Maybe the sensibility wasn't that different after all. Those teddy bombers hardly lacked for embroideries, and neither, for that matter, did a denim minidress with a bodice quilted in a Vichy check, or a pair of tiny little frocks with ballerina-esque tutu skirts. In the end, though, it was the off-duty ease of those overalls that made the collection a winner.