April 2019 Issue#28 April 2019 Issue #28 | Page 14

Spring 2019 Menswear
Balmain
“Don’t you black-or-white me.” Growing up a black
child of white adoptive parents in Bordeaux and
then coming up as the only black creative di-
rector at a legacy Paris fashion house (Boateng
was long gone, and Abloh yet to rock up), Olivi-
er Rousteing listened to a great deal of Michael
Jackson. His favorite song? “They Don’t Care
About Us,” he said before today’s heavily Jack-
son-flavored Franco/American Thriller at Balmain.
Bubbles was not featured, however along with the
soundtrack there were lots of fun, loving referenc-
es to Jackson and the way he makes Rousteing
feel; the red jacket in look five, the Balmain/Bad
cover tee in look eight, the “Dangerous” style.
the mirror-frogged sweatshirt in look 100, and—of course—all the black socks and
white loafers. There were also a lot of less-specifically Jackson references to the vision
of Americana Rousteing viewed through his distant Bordeaux lens while growing up:
oversize vintage collegiate football sweaters and cardigans, some great loose pleated
denim-alike jersey trousers and ripped denim jeans, and jackets whose holes were
lined in atelier-applied crystal.
So this was a red, white, and blue collection, yes; but ultimately it was way more tricol-
or than star-spangled. Rousteing also name-checked Serge Gainsbourg, that Gaulo-
ise gravel-voiced exemplar of the patrimony of La France, as a key lifetime listen. The
fabric of French tradition was woven (and studded, pinned, and printed) into this col-
lection. Marinière tops in paillette, low-slung, were worn above shockingly neutral (for
Balmain) but totally French-preppy narrow straight-cut unwashed indigo jeans. This
carried over into the women’s “Episode” collection in body-con minidresses in Marin-
ière stripe with powerful ruffling on the shoulder. There was a fitted bouclé jacket in
tricolor weave (navy dominated) and a lot of Deauville or St.-Tropez nautical tailoring in
more bouclé. Other excellent details, neither specifically French nor American but très
Balmain, were the broken-glass-effect clear paillettes and the high-rise, CONS-reminis-
cent, Balmain-tagged sneakers.
Near the end there was a tight little section, nearly all-black, that gave soft silk evening
jackets and tailcoats hoods that extended out their lapels—this looked almost Japa-
nese, way off-theme, but sleekly ninja. Balmain’s atelier is in fine form: Both for men
and for women the house’s trademark mega-embellishment was excellently executed.
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