Balmain F/W 13.14 Paris

[La Parisienne]

February 28, 2013 PARIS

By Nicole Phelps

Olivier Rousteing name-checked Paul Poiret and Christian Lacroix in addition to his label's founder, Pierre Balmain, today. Put them all together and you still wouldn't match the irrepressible exuberance of this young designer. Backstage he was asked if the hip-high suede boots the models wore (he called them cuissardes) were hard to put on, and he replied, "No, it's fine. At Balmain, everything is fine." The point being, Rousteing makes blingy clothes designed for going out and having a good time; if you come looking for pantsuits or a winter coat, you've got the wrong idea.

This season, even more than in the past, Rousteing embraced extremes of silhouette. Imagine Klaus Nomi performing behind David Bowie on SNL in 1979, mixed with One Thousand and One Nights, and you begin to get the picture. Shoulders were pronounced, so were hips, and sleeves flared out at the elbows before tapering to the wrists, the yin-for-yang complement to the hourglass silhouettes. Embellishments, meanwhile, were utterly next level: Leather came quilted and embroidered with diamond-shape crystals, or was cut into narrow strips and elaborately woven to resemble tweed. Some of the tailoring looked as stiff as upholstery—not even 5'11" Karlie Kloss could pull off the square-back blazer she wore over another belted jacket—but Rousteing balanced things out with draped silk charmeuse miniskirts and metallic moiré harem pants. Fuzzy angora knits, cut into a dropped-lapel blazer or one-sleeved sweaters, softened the picture further. But, like we said, these aren't clothes made for lounging. Led Zeppelin on the soundtrack cued the vibe. Where Rousteing's girl goes, the party follows.