Balmain's Touch

Balmain is one of the top-most fashion houses we have, and we know only to expect elegance and interesting drama from Olivier Rousteing in each one of his collections. The fall-winter 2016-2017 ready-to-wear line had a lot of lace, suede and silk with detailing such as tassels, fringes and fur trimmings, stiff metallic belts and choker necklaces with elaborate beaded work on super minis accentuating strong shoulders. Color hues varied from icy shades of sky blue, lilac, and blush pink to mint and forest green along with silver and grey. Balmain is all about beautiful arabesque embroidery and this collection had hints of extravagant 18th-century Late Baroque with Rococo embroidery. As a matter of fact, some of his royal tops resembled stair pole style at the neckline. Other fabulous fashion trends in this fall line were transparent cut-out geometrically-shaped panels on several tops and stunning ruffles falling down in an orderly fashion. The audience was surprised to realize that what they thought to be tights were in fact high boots designed by Rousteing in soft suede. This footwear reached all the way to the thighs with increasing stiletto heels. What also caught our attention were numerous stiff shoes in colors such as navy blue, oxblood red, desert sand and black.