Balmain opts for operatic excess at Paris Fashion Week

Sep 29 , 2017

Models Alessandra Ambrosio, Natalia Vodianova, Natasha Poly present creations as Olivier Rousteing acknowledges the audience at the end of Balmain women's 2018 spring/summer ready-to-wear collection fashion show in Paris. Photo: AFP

Claudia Schiffer and Pamela Anderson added some star quality to Paris Fashion Week’s decadent Balmain collection Thursday, while a debut from Chloe’s new designer wowed the crowds

Fashion needs its showmen, and Balmain’s designer Olivier Rousteing is one of them. On Thursday he took his guests to the opulent Paris Opera, where thousands of white roses peeped out of foliage decorating the venue’s stone staircase.

French fashion designer Olivier Rousteing appears at the end of his 2018 spring/summer ready-to-wear collection fashion show in Paris. Photo: REUTERS

And in case guests were unsure what event they were attending, a giant gold-medallion embossed “Balmain Paris” gleamed in the centre.

Model Natalia Vodianova strutted out to operatic music, sporting a loose black sheeny jumpsuit, gold-chain shoulder-straps and see-through PVC boots.

Model Natalia Vodianova presents a creation for Balmain during the women's 2018 spring/summer ready-to-wear collection fashion show in Paris. Photo: AFP

Her look set the tone – this may be the opera house, but nothing shown here will be classical. Designs with unadulterated excess followed, with sheer printed plastic skirts, angular black perforated sweaters, and speckled corsets with strategically placed zips.

A model presents a creation for Balmain during the women's 2018 spring/summer ready-to-wear collection fashion show in Paris. Photo: AFP

Stripe motifs, horizontal bands and Rousteing’s signature warrior-like stitching then added some kinetic energy to looks dominated by black, white and silver – with a flash of vivid colour.