Mode à Paris (Paris Fashion Week) runs from September 27th to October 5th, 2011 and showcases the RTW collections for Spring 2012. Paris Fashion Week is a favorite of many Editors and Stylists due to it’s showmanship. Many of the collections are shown in grand venues with much attention paid to the smallest of details. Shows by Parisian Designers are grand in scope and the production is much like a show you might see at a Broadway theater.
I have many favorite fashion designers whose collections I anxiously await during Mode à Paris but one of my favorites has to be Balmain which was founded by Pierre Balmain and now designed by 26 year old Olivier Rousteing.
Balmain showed their Spring 2012 RTW show at the Intercontinental Grand Hôtel on Thursday, September 29th. Rousteing credited Nudie Cohn, a Russian-born American tailor who designed decorative rhinestone-covered suits, known popularly as “Nudie Suits”, and other elaborate outfits for some of the most famous celebrities of his era, for the collection taking his inspiration by researching the show costumes that Cohn deigned for westerns seen in the sixties.
Turning to Sin City the collection had a mix of faded denim skirts, jeans and button down shirts, bodycon tight fitted dresses with gold embroidery, hot shorts and Matador inspired leather jackets and leather pants. In the spirit of Vegas he sent floral dresses down the runway which were inspired by quilted bedspreads. There was lots of embellishment using sequins, rhinestones, heavy beading techniques, studs and metal buttons. Belts with large buckles gave the looks a western flare.
The models wore leather gladiator sandals and Western inspired suede booties.
This season it was all about the sparkle and shine. When Olivier Rousteing was asked if he saw himself as a budding Nicolas Ghesquière, who started out as a hidden talent at Balenciaga, Rousteing exclaimed: “I can only cross my fingers and hope for such a career!”
Images: Style.com
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