L'Atelier Balmain

Blending two impressive heritages, the 2024 Balmain Resort Collections build upon the compelling legacy of Monsieur Balmain, melding his passion for American dynamism with the house’s mastery of French craftsmanship.    For this podcast, Olivier Rousteing discusses how his decorative motifs channel the bold style of the American cowboy and how his collections reflect the true history of...

“My last runway surprised more than a few,” explains Olivier Rousteing. “Coverage of previous Balmain shows often focused on the fashion-week festivals and spectacles—but for our Fall 2023 Balmain Women’s designs, my team and I were determined to steer clear of the fireworks. Instead, we shone a single, perfectly directed spotlight upon the extraordinary possibilities offered to us whenever we cel...

For this episode, Vogue Writer and Editor Lynn Yaeger returns to explain why she is so inspired by the fascinating life of Josephine Baker.    Born into a life of poverty, segregation and racial violence in Saint Louis, Josephine Baker managed to escape what seemed to have been her destiny—eventually transforming herself, through determination and talent, into the glamorous toast of Euro...

Pierre Balmain’s early architectural training was clearly reflected in his distinctive mastery of haute couture’s volumes and strict tailoring. It also pushed him to partner with leading architects of his day on the construction of impressive structures, most notably Villa Balmain, the designer's extraordinary retreat on the Isle of Elba. For Miami’s Art Week, Cuban artist Alexandre Arrechea...

As we wrap up our series of in-depth conversations with Olivier Rousteing about his ten years of guiding Balmain, John Gilligan sits down again with Rousteing to talk about the Creative Director’s favorite house moments of the past decade. From a beautiful classical ballet at the Paris Opera House to two incredible weekends at Coachella, Rousteing walks us through his inspirations, motivations and...

For Olivier Rousteing, a house campaign marks the final creative moment of the season’s collection. And Rousteing is continually searching out surprising, engaging, and entertaining tools—new visions, new platforms—that he can rely on to ensure that each of his campaigns leaves a memorable impression. In this third episode of l’Atelier Balmain’s second season, we continue our series of conversatio...

For this episode of the Balmain podcast, we continue our series of conversations with Creative Director Olivier Rousteing, who explains the inspirations, designs and presentations that help set apart his favorite runways—as well as the challenges that he and his team had to overcome during the last ten years of Paris fashion weeks.   We invite you to click to open the episode’s special webpag...

Last season’s podcast focused on some of the legendary moments, designs, images and personalities associated with Pierre Balmain and his legendary “New French Style”— highlighting how Monsieur Balmain’s unique and fresh designs helped to usher in the postwar era’s golden age of Paris couture.   With this first episode of season two of the podcast, we begin an in-depth, four-part exploration o...

Pierre Balmain’s designs were key ingredients in some of the twentieth century’s most important fashion shootings. Month after month, season after season, the house’s couture creations were worn by beautiful models in incredible locations, captured by talented photographers and published by the leading magazines.   Since this episode is centered on some of the mid-century’s most iconic fashio...

A key person behind the rapid early growth of Balmain and smooth operations of the legendary flagship at 44 François Premier was Ginette Spanier. Spanier was the first person to be named as Balmain’s Directrice, (the Director of the house), and she remained in that position for almost thirty years. While her name may not be familiar to many today, she was a well-known personality during her time a...

We start this episode with an examination of an iconic 20th-Century photograph: the black-and-white image of Gertrude Stein, seated in Pierre Balmain’s showroom, which was captured by the fashion photographer Horst for Vogue in 1946. Maira Kalman, the celebrated author, illustrator and designer explains why she chose to recently paint her own version of this legendary image for her recent edition...

Seated in the front row of the first Balmain show, alongside his friends Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, was the fascinating English Renaissance man, Cecil Beaton. The author and film director Lisa Immordino-Vreeland joins this episode of l’Atelier Balmain to discuss the fascinating life and work of Beaton. Immordino Vreeland, known for her prizewinning documentaries about some of the 20th-Cen...

Maira Kalman, the celebrated author, illustrator and designer joins the l’Atelier Balmain podcast for episode four. Kalman who oversaw 2020’s critically praised and colorful re-edition of Gertrude Stein’s best-selling “Autobiography of Alice B Toklas,” discusses the incredible literary and artistic legacy of Gertrude Stein and Alice B Toklas. Pierre Balmain shared a deep friendship with the couple...

Pierre Balmain’s life changed radically on October 12th, 1945. That was the date that the young designer chose to schedule his house’s first couture presentation to the public, held inside the salon of his new headquarters at 44, rue de François Premier, in the center of Paris’ famed “Golden Triangle” luxury neighborhood.   With the help of the award-winning fashion journalist Lynn Yaeger, th...

From a musical péniche gliding through the center of Paris to under-the-star runways dedicated to virtual show attendees, Olivier Rousteing has overseen a series of innovative solutions, in order to present his vision of Balmain’s distinctive optimism and heritage during 2020’s long months of lockdowns and worries. This second episode of l’Atelier Balmain explores Olivier Rousteing’s dedication to...

The 1919 vaudeville hit, “How Ya Gonna To Keep ‘Em Down On The Farm (After They’ve Seen Paree?)” may be simple, silly, and with a title that is way too long—but at its core, it holds one enduring truth: the lure of Paris is just sometimes too strong to be resisted. For this premiere episode of l’Atelier Balmain, we explore the paths of two provincials—Pierre Balmain, from Saint Jean de Maurienne i...