Almost every fashion conscious person with Instagram is aware of the Balmain Fashion Revolution or the hashtag Balmainarmy.
Balmain has made its way to the ultimate fashion popularity pinnacle and is currently the cherry on top for “fashion table talk” because it is marketed strongly through pop culture and social media. Some may agree to disagree on what fashion is revolving around, but I believe fashion and the way it is marketed is just adapting to consumers and their behavioral patterns as it has done in previous times. Cringe if you want to, but facts are facts. I believe the changes are exciting and inevitable but not necessarily totally revolutionary.
Creative Director for Balmain Oliver Rousteing is exceptionally great at popularizing his work. I believe it is the principle mantra for the house and even more so now, since Oliver took over the house at in his early twenties. Unlike most creative heads for the older brands, Oliver was born into the same era as the new luxury consumer. The selective luxury consumer I should say—the girl who may not necessarily buy an entire Chanel Tweed suit but just a bag. The girl who mixes her look with regular mainstream fast fashion labels and indulges in thrift shopping.
Oliver understands the importance of dominating in a world where new luxury consumers loiter and where anyone can now have their five minutes of fame. He understands the consumer because in a sort of way he has the digital personality of the consumer. I really get the quick, popular and fresh vibe when I see his marketing strategies and his work. Even his choice of muses: Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, they all have that same vibe. It’s the type of vibe that the new luxury consumer relates to.
As per normal every year, H&M—the multinational retail-clothing company out of Sweden—teams up with a design house to make an out-of-reach brand available to its mass-market consumer base for a relatively low price. This year it is Balmain.
Everyone knew Balmain x H&M was going to break the internet and there would be long lines at the store as with most designer collaborations. I tend to get excited by collaborations in the beginning but in many cases I am left disappointed over quality. Most designers also tend to use the collaborations just for marketing purposes and not to solely give fast fashion consumers a chance to really experience the brand.
The day before the collection was released, my excitement level had shrunk. I was wondering if it was really worth it to go wait hours in a line. I ended up not going to H&M until 3 pm to see whatever was left of the collection. In retail world, this is pointless for a collaboration release. Only the dressed display mannequins are left, along with a few accessories. I left smiling. I was happy. In a world where the idea of luxury is changing, I was happy to see a collaboration that delivered with respect to quality and to price point.
I saw videos online of Balmain x H&M and it looked like Black Friday on steroids. To be quite honest, if I had the energy I probably would have been rushing through the door to snag a few pieces up myself. Excellent craftsmanship and on an even important note. Oliver truly extended the brand through the collaboration; something I haven’t seen in a long while. It was like he was solidifying his relationship with his followers. He was really trying to share and not screw over the collaboration to get new Instagram followers.
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