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Olivier Rousteing has been spinning the wheel at Balmain Homme for a little over a year now, and while his work has remained both tactful and respectful to his predecessor, a more culturally aware approach has settled in at the old house. For SS13, which was revealed at a presentation at the Balmain headquarters in Paris, Rousteing had applied the celebrated image of the adventurer to the brand’s framework. All the Indiana Jones elements were there – sandy safari jackets, anyone? – but something happened in the process, which made the outcome less predictable than it could have been. Said safari jackets had a 1970s, almost Saint Laurentian vibe to them, while the leathers of trademark Balmain jackets had been softened considerably. The collection’s piece de resistance, a crisp basket-weave blazer, looked Peruvian, while the military segment of the collection – some of which was executed in a cool forest green – resembled the British army uniforms of colonial India. If the Balmain man still drives a motorbike, he’s definitely more Lawrence of Arabia than James Dean. Via a young Harrison Ford, of course.
Text: Anders Christian Madsen
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