Assignment 2: Balmain

1947-1953 1954-1963

Shraddha Kutty03604064FSH 613

Image 1 and 2 (front and angular)Design House: House of Balmain (French, founded 1945)Designer: Pierre Balmain (French, St. Jean de Maurienne 1914 – 1982 Paris)Date: 1950Culture: FrenchMedium: Silk, wool, leather

Image 3 and 4. Balmain x H&M dress, $69.99Photo: H&M

Image 4.

1947-1953 I• The strength and boldness of Balmain x H&M’s collaboration is very

evident and in stark contrast to the demure silhouettes of designs between 1947 and 1953. While both dresses in images 1 through 4 have a red and black palette, they both project very different moods. The dress from 1950 has a plaid print and a cowl and on the front which runs into split soft almost bustle-like at the back. The dress is accessorized by a slim leather belt as well.

• The bodycon (being the key silhouette of the entire collection) dress has a red and black, minimal yet eye-catching color blocking in simple geometric harmony with the silhouette. Both dresses have a high turtleneck with a slight v-cut and full sleeves but cater to two very different ambiences. The former being more serious and day time chic while the latter serves a flashier, high street purpose. It is very glamorous in its look and yet maintains ‘street cred’.

Image 5 and 6 (front and back)Design House: House of Balmain (French, founded 1945)Designer: Pierre Balmain (French, St. Jean de Maurienne 1914 – 1982 Paris)Date: 1951-55Culture: FrenchMedium: Wool

Image 7 and 8. Balmain x H&M dress, $249Photo: H&M

Image 4.

1947-1953 II• There is a vast difference between the two coats in images 5 to 8

most noticeably in the silhouettes and details.• Less obvious would be the collars, the 2015 coat has a shawl collar

while the one from the 1950s is designed uniquely in a decorative sailor-like way with simply two buttons on the facing. The overall drape of the coat is the most interesting. The length and heavy hand resembles a modified version of the cocoon coat with a double-breasted front.

• The black wrap coat (images 7 and 8) because of its color, is high street chic, luxurious owing to the excessive gold-colored metal buttons and the material being an Italian wool-blend. The mood is more provocative than the red wool coat (images 5 and 6) and the wrap cinching the waist draw immediate attention the form of the wearer. The coat resembles a trench.

Images 7 (front) and 8 (back)Design House: House of Balmain (French, founded 1945)Designer: Pierre Balmain (French, St. Jean de Maurienne 1914 – 1982 Paris)Date: Fall/Winter 1954 – 55Culture: FrenchMedium: Silk, glass, shells

Image 10Image 9 and 10. Balmain x H&M dress, $499Photo: H&M

• Lavish embellishments have been a constant element in Balmain ensembles since its founding in 1945 and is evident from images 7 through 10. Both dresses from 1954/1955 and 2015 are sheath dresses of midi length, sleeveless and have excessive detail.

• The harlequin pattern on the front of the 2015 dress (images 9 and 10) is eccentric, youthful and fits the geometric theme of the entire collection. The dress from 1945-55 is more elegant, mature and reinforces the fact that Balmain’s early customers included belonged to a “more conservative era” and that “some of Balmain’s best customers were royals such as Queen Fabiola of Belgium and Queen Sirikit of Thailand, who couldn’t risk appearing too unconventional or even too interested in what they wore” (Chrisman-Campbell, theatlantic.com).

1947-1953 II

Images 11 (front) and 12 (back)Design House: House of Balmain (French, founded 1945)Designer: Pierre Balmain (French, St. Jean de Maurienne 1914 – 1982 Paris)Date: Fall/Winter 1959Culture: FrenchMedium: Satin, beads, shells, Lesage embroidery, pearls, crystals, raffia

Image 12. Image 13 and 14. Balmain x H&M dress, $649Photo: H&M

1954-1963 II• The best description for the entire Balman and H&M

collaboration is, “There's more velvet, baroque-style jacquard, dense beading, cord and metallic thread detailing than one would expect for the price point” (Fernandez, fashionista.com). The embellished dress (Images 11 and 12) of 1959 is strikingly similar to the beaded dress from 2015 in the depth of detail.

• Differences between the two dresses are obviously the silhouette while one is fit-and-flare style the other is unsurprisingly, given the current trends, a bodycon style. The details too reflect the zeitgeist of the era of the dresses, namely floral and delicate in 1959 while the 2015 dress has geometric, art deco and strong angles.

• Overall both the dresses create moods appropriate to its time and wearer. The former being soft and romantic while the newer dress identifies with progressive and feminist movements.

Review• The collaboration is uplifting for both brands, one targeted

at a mass market consumer and the other at aspirational consumers. It is fitting for such products to exist in a social media generation and the blurring of lines between affluent and budget shoppers.

• The association with H&M does not harm Balmain as a fashion brand, especially since today it is lead by a young, dynamic designer with popular connections and supporters during a time when fashion is much more accessible to the layman via multiple internet portals.

• By collaborating Balmain is inviting aspirational shoppers into the world of Balmain, while the luxuriousness of the Balmain idea strengthens the brand perception for H&M. Both brands are evolving and adapting to the zeitgeist.

Balmain and Jolie Madame• The ‘Jolie Madame’ silhouette was born during the post-world war period

when French women wished to abandon utilitarian fashions for feminine and bold styles. It is defined by bouffant skirts, soft shoulders and cinched waists (which are plentiful in the Balmain x H&M collection).

• The style was popular as it offered solace in luxury aesthetic, away from the simple practical clothing due to wartime hardships. Full skirts, structural cutting, rich decadent embroidery and fine fabrics were key to the ‘Jolie Madame’.

• In the H&M collection as with Balmain the brand, the principle is applied in terms of “structure”. “Where Pierre Balmain used precise draping and cutting to evoke a demure femininity, Rousteing used it to emphasize a woman’s swagger, opening necklines almost to the navel and raising hems to barely below the crotch” (John Colapinto, newyorker.com)

CitationImages 1 and 2. Dress; ; House of Balmain (French, founded 1945). Photograph. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. metmuseum.org. <http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/83439?rpp=30&pg=1&ft=balmain+house+of&pos=1>

Chrisman-Campbell, Kimberly. “Balmain: The Reinvention of a Fashion House”. theatlantic.com. Web. 12 Nov 2015. <http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/11/balmain-the-reinvention-of-a-fashion-house/415440/>

Image 3 . Dhani Mau . Balmain x H&M: See the full collection with prices . Photograph. H&M. 09 Oct 2015<http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2016-ready-to-wear/row/slideshow/collection#1>

Image 4 . Chantel Dernandez . The Full Balmain x H&M Look Book Is Here, Officially. Photograph. Hm.com. 14 Oct 2015. <http://fashionista.com/2015/10/balmain-hm-look-book>

Image 5 and 6 . Dress; House of Balmain (French, founded 1945) Photograph. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Metmuseum.org. <http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/82639?rpp=30&pg=1&ft=balmain&when=A.D.%2B1900-present&pos=9&imgno=2&tabname=object-information>

Image 7. Dhani Mau . Balmain x H&M: See the full collection with prices . Photograph. H&M. 09 Oct 2015. <http://fashionista.com/2015/10/balmain-hm-collection-prices#&gid=ci01db406b70019512&pid=6105_pr_151-499jpg>

Image 8 . Chantel Dernandez . The Full Balmain x H&M Look Book Is Here, Officially. Photograph. Hm.com. 14 Oct 2015. <http://fashionista.com/2015/10/balmain-hm-look-book>

Images 9 and 10<http://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/a-pierre-balmain-couture-embroidered-black-satin-42-p-41c3050eb7>

Image 11. Dhani Mau . Balmain x H&M: See the full collection with prices . Photograph. H&M. 09 Oct 2015. <http://fashionista.com/2015/10/balmain-hm-collection-prices#&gid=ci01db406b70019512&pid=6105_pr_151-499jpg>

Image 12. Chantel Dernandez . The Full Balmain x H&M Look Book Is Here, Officially. Photograph. Hm.com. 14 Oct 2015. <http://fashionista.com/2015/10/balmain-hm-look-book>

Colapinto, John . Trending Olivier Rousteing’s glamour army . Web . 12 Oct 2015 . <http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/12/trending>