H&M has collaborated with French fashion house Balmain to present a collection in stores across the world and digital shelves on November 5. By Devi Singh
With a rather unconventional start as a young protége at Roberto Cavalli, Olivier Rosteing, has come a long way with Christophe Decarnin stepping down as the creative director of Balmain and Rosteing taking over the mantle and changing the face of Balmain forever.
Having a list of high profile celebrity clients donning the creation, Balmain, teams up with high-street brand H&M for a collaboration that will include some of the premier pieces from Olivier Rousteing’s collection. “Balmain has a unique style with the mix of couture spirit and street wear attitude and we are very excited to collaborate with them for our 2015 designer collaboration,” said Dhatri Bhatt, head of communication, H&M India.
After Olivier Rousteing confirmed the collection six months ago, surreptitious sneak peeks of the collection have been doing the rounds online with some calling it as H&M’s most exorbitantly tagged collection.The Balmain x H&M collection will be unveiled across 250 H&M stores worldwide, marking its digital presence as well from November 5. “For me, Balmain is the concept of what fashion should be today. When you wear Balmain, you feel powerful and confident. It’s like a warrior with their armour,” Rosteing said.
With H&M having a history of collaborating with big designers in the past it must have been different working with Rousteing. Bhatt elaborates on the same saying, “Rousteing has kept the Balmain DNA intact but is designing for today's generation with an aim to make women and men feel glamorous and confident. He has created a collection full of signature pieces which are celebration of the stories he has been telling at Balmain for the last five years.”
Rousteing enjoys a status of being one of the most followed social media stars. With the kind of celebrity status and friends he has Balmain could be overshadowed by him. Bhatt likes to differ, “Olivier has an important role in the fashion industry today and we are fascinated by the way he uses social media to his advantage.”
H&M seems to be besotted with unveiling and announcing its collaborations with big designers in a rather furtive manner. It never fails to throw surprises in that sense which might come as a conscious decision to some to which Bhatt adds, “H&M loves being exciting to its customers. Music drives Rousteing when designing and plays an important role for this collaboration, therefore the Billboard Music Awards felt like the perfect place for the announcement.”
The collection includes embellished prints, chunky belts, rich colours and sharp shoulder pads. “The Indian consumers love global fashion and we believe there is a huge demand for it. The print campaign is set in a futuristic urban subway system where each image reflects the diversity, energy and attitude of the Balmain x H&M collection. Kendall, Gigi and Jourdan are all friends of Rousteing, and the perfect choice to star in the campaign. This is for the global H&M customers and we hope that our Indian customers will also enjoy it,” he added.
The collection starts from Rs1299 and goes up to Rs39,999.