Olivier Rousteing certainly has an odd take on the Parisienne woman. His version of the “French cool girl” is still stuck in the 80s, complete with exaggerated proportions and too much leather. And for about the 689th (we already lost count!) time, this was again the case with his Fall 2019 show for Balmain. Here, it’s his same-old 80s-inflicted mess of reworked suits and leather-induced ensembles—only this time, the ridiculousness was on full overdrive. Studs on boucle pieces might seem the type of dichotomy that the French and the wannabe-French might gravitate toward, but in this 83-look collection, there was just a little too much of them. The look lost its edgy flair mid-show and soon became somewhat of a parody of itself. The houndstooth insertions didn’t help either. All they did was further take Rousteing’s latest looks and made them seem more in the 80s than ever before. And when the awkward chiffon cut-outs and panels, as well as the pouf-like velvet floral ruffles, came on, that’s where we essentially gave up. This was yet another disappointing 80s-inspired mess Rousteing offered for Balmain clients. And while they may work for social media hype, we doubt they’d make an impact anywhere else. Maybe as drag show costumes, perhaps?
Photo: Daniele Oberrauch / Gorunway.com
