Balmain to show menswear at Paris Fashion Week

By

Dominique Muret

Published
May 29, 2015

Following the announcement of its collaboration with Swedish retailer H&M, Balmain has once again taken center stage. The Parisian luxury brand will debut its men's collection in June on the catwalks.

"This is the brand’s first show, which will take place in Paris on Saturday June 27 at 14h as part of men’s fashion week," said a spokesperson for the house.

Under the leadership of artistic director Olivier Rousteing, Balmain menswear, which was launched in 2009, has grown from season to season, gradually finding its audience. "There is strong demand. It works very well. Balmain Men now accounts for 40% of total sales," said the fashion house. 

Holding a men's show, in addition to the one devoted to women, should further increase the visibility of the brand, which has been successfully relaunched since Olivier Rousteing (29 years old) was named its head designer in 2011. Within the span of a few seasons, the young designer has succeeded in giving Balmain a real boost, offering a cool style with a sexy international pop flair.

Olivier Rousteing was one of the first pop stars to choose the Barbados-born pop star Rihanna as its face. That was in 2013 ... Well before Dior!

A skilled communicator and very comfortable with social networks, the young designer continues to create a buzz by talking about Balmain - from appearing naked on the cover of gay magazine Têtu in February, to garnering more than a million followers on his Instagram account by offering various behind-the-scenes looks of at the fashion world.

His latest adventure: participating on May 17th in the Billboard Music Awards, the musical equivalent of the Oscars in the United States. As he walked the red carpet alongside top models Jourdan Dunn and Kendall Jenner, Rousteing announced, as usual, that they were all wearing "Balmain for H&M". It was enough for a photo, which was immediately posted on Instagram, to be seen across the planet!