Balmain

 In 1945, opening his own fashion house, Pierre Balmain became one of the three most famous fashion designers in Paris. Together with Balanciaga and Dior he wanted to recreate the old tradition of Haute Couture and make European women look beautiful.

1910s
Pierre Balmain was born in 1914 in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, France. His family was quite wealthy and had a direct connection with the fashion industry: his father was a owner of a textile manufacturer and his mother was a fashion expert. Since childhood Pierre was attracted by working with fabrics. He was amazed by the magical transformation a piece of fabric into a dress. Having determined his future, Pierre went to Paris to study at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. In the fashion capital he spent time designing dresses and tired to get a job in one of the famous atelier in Paris.

1930s
In 1936 after one year of unsuccessful attempts, Balmain finally met Edward Molyneux, who gave him a chance to prove himself. Balmain left school to work with the famous fashion designer. In 1939 Balmain joined Lucien Lelong, where he learned the art of embroidery which he later used in his famous sparkling dresses. Working with Lelong Pierre met Christian Dior and started thinking about opening his own fashion house.

1940s
In 1945 Pierre Balmain opened his own Fashion House in Paris. His first collection consisted of jackets, new style kimonos, and evening gowns with a lot of embroidery. Balmain brought back luxury which was forgotten during the war. He designed the famous silhouette which later became popular as Christian Dior’s New Look: a small waist and a bell shaped skirt. Balmain’s style later would be called the New French Style.

1950s
The first Balmain boutique was opened in New York. Before that only Balanciaga represented French fashion in America. Balmain managed to adapt French style to less sophisticated American women.
Balmain’s position in the USA became much stronger after his cooperation with Hollywood. He designed the costumes for many films including And God Created Woman, Tender is The Night, etc.
Balmain dressed the most beautiful women: Vivien Leigh, Marlene Dietrich, Brigitte Bardot, and Katharine Hepburn. Among his clients were many wives of diplomats and members of royal families.

1960-1970s
That was the epoch of elegance, Yves Saint Lauren lead on the world fashion stage. Balmain was not so much in demand any more, but he still worked with embroidery, generously decorating dress with golden beads.

1980-2000s
In 1993 Oscar de la Renta became a creative director of Balmain House. He led the house almost for 10 years. He received an award for being the best designer of women’s clothes in 2000. Being extremely busy in his own fashion house Oscar De la Renta could not be involved in Balmain house completely. As a result Balmain House lost its clients and reputation.

2000-2010
In 2001 Loren Merse replaced Oscar de la Renta. In 2005 new investors came to support the brand and Christophe Decarnin, who successfully worked with Paco Rabanne was hired as creative director of Balmain House.

“The time of Haute Couture has passed. Now is a time of new technology and original ideas. I rely on it,” said Decarnin. In a very short time he brought back the forgotten glory of the house. After one year income was doubled. Clothes designed by Decarnin are very attractive and extremely expensive.
Like Balmain, Decarnin has a passion to decoration. His creations are full of sparkling stones and golden chains.

Pierre Balman compared his creation, the dresses, with architecture. Decarnin has very simple explanation: “So what? Balmain is for very very cool girls.”

For more details see
www.balmain.com