Body of Work
Review of Balmain Spring 2025 Fashion Show
By Mark Wittmer
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Bold. Bodily. Intricate. Structural. Glamorous.
For Spring 2025, Olivier Rousteing puts his penchant for structural innovation and vibrant theatricality to work toward a glamorous celebration of the human form, while making a detour to revisit some classic moments of Parisian chic from the house’s past.
One of Rousteing’s greatest strengths as a designer is his ability to take one structural idea and ingeniously riff on it in a dozen different ways throughout a collection, anchoring his moments of dramatic flair and glamor in a consistent, cohesive structural foundation. In tonight’s collection, that motif took the form of powerful and angular upward-pointing shoulders, with an echoing structure often applied to the hips. Sometimes this aspect of magnifying the power of the body took further shape as a graphic expression with faces glitteringly emblazoned across dresses. In slightly more subdued moments, tailored jackets drawn from the house’s archives classics were updated with the angular shoulder treatment. Other maison classics were glamorously reconsidered with a rich and broad application of couture craft techniques as well, as for example with the sailor-stripe sweater crafted from pearls and gold chains.
These more familiar looks did feel a bit eclipsed by the looks at the beginning and end of the collection that dramatically and powerfully translated the human form, like the uncanny torso dress that seemed hand-sculpted from fleshy clay, or the amazing face dress that closed out the collection.
THE DIRECTION
Rousteing lent further credence to his exploration of bodily beauty by casting women of all different colors (celebrating racial diversity and the conversation between different heritages has always been one of his core values), as well as ages. With that in mind though, the lack of size inclusivity feels like a bit of a misstep.
THE WRAP UP
While it didn’t maintain the same level as impact and ingenuity throughout as its middle section didn’t arise to the same sense of imagination and impact, every look in the collection was a stellar showcase for the craft mastery of the Balmain atelier. In his best moments, Olivier Rousteing drew deeply on that skill to create a dramatic ode to the beauty of the human form.
