Pierre Balmain S.A. () trading as Balmain, is a French luxury

fashion house Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and plac ...

that was founded by

Pierre Balmain Pierre Alexandre Claudius Balmain (; 18 May 1914 – 29 June 1982) was a French fashion designer and founder of leading post-war fashion house Balmain (fashion house), Balmain. Known for sophistication and elegance, he described the art of dre ...

in 1945. It operates 16 monobrand stores, including locations in New York City, London, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, and in Milan's

Via Montenapoleone Via Monte Napoleone, also spelled Via Montenapoleone, is an upscale shopping street in Milan, Italy, Europe's most expensive street (2022) and the third most expensive street in the world . It is famous for its ready-to-wear fashion and jewelry sho ...

. In 2016, Mayhoola Investments acquired Balmain for a figure reportedly close to €500 million ($548 million).Valentino’s Qatari Owners Acquire Balmain
JUNE 22, 2016 Balmain was 70 percent controlled by heirs of Alain Hivelin. The company does not regularly release financial information, but Les Echos estimated its revenue in 2015 at €120 million (about $136 million), growing from an estimated €30 million (about $34 million) in 2012. Balmain expected to reach a revenue of €150 million in 2017, 90% of which is generated by the

wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

channel, and is also putting more effort into direct retail.

History

Balmain was born in 1914 in France. His father owned a

drapery Drapery is a general word referring to cloths or textiles (Old French , from Late Latin ). It may refer to cloth used for decorative purposes – such as around windows – or to the trade of retailing cloth, originally mostly for clothin ...

business and his mother and sister owned a fashion boutique where he often worked after his father's death in 1921. He attended the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...

in 1933–1934, with intent to study

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

but instead ended up spending the majority of his time designing dresses. After working for

atelier An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or v ...

Robert Piquet as a freelance artist and spending time with

Edward Molyneux Edward Henry Molyneux () (5 September 1891 – 23 March 1974) was a leading British fashion designer whose salon in Paris was in operation from 1919 until 1950. He was characterised as a modernist designer who played with the refinements of co ...

, he left school to work for Molyneux. In the late 1930s, he served in the French air force and the army pioneer corps. After peace was declared, he worked at

Lucien Lelong Lucien Lelong (; 11 October 1889 – 11 May 1958) was a French couturier who was prominent from the 1920s to the 1940s. Career Born in Paris as the son of Arthur Lelong, the owner of a fashion store, he trained at the Hautes Etudes de Commer ...

and opened his own fashion house under his name at 44, rue François 1^er in Paris. He released his first collection in October 1945 and his first fragrance, Jolie Madame in 1949. In the period following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Pierre Balmain was "a king of French fashion" and outfitted stars including

Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' attention in 1946 with her perform ...

and

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...

, the Nicaraguan first lady

Hope Portocarrero Hope Portocarrero, also known as Madame Somoza and Hope Somoza Baldocchi later in life, (June 28, 1929 – 5 October 1991) was the wife of dictator and president of Nicaragua Anastasio Somoza Debayle and, beginning in 1967, First Lady of Nicaragu ...

, Yaeger, Lynn. "Balmain Nouveau." ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' (October 2007), p. 254–256. and

Queen Sirikit of Thailand Queen Sirikit ( th, สิริกิติ์; ; ); born ''Mom Rajawongse'' Sirikit Kitiyakara ( th, สิริกิติ์ กิติยากร; ; 12 August 1932) is the queen mother of Thailand. She was Queen of Thailand as the wif ...

. Marlene Dietrich wore Balmain clothes that she selected in "No Highway in the Sky" (1951).

Successors

After Balmain's death in 1982, the house was led by Erik Mortensen, described by ''

'' as "Pierre Balmain's right hand". Mortensen had joined the house to work as Balmain's assistant in 1951. After succeeding Balmain, Eric Mortensen worked to maintain the brand aesthetic in the ever-living world of couture while still maintaining the progressive spirit of creativity in the fashion industry. The Balmain house recruits Peggy Huynh Kinh in 1982 to provide artistic direction for women's ready-to-wear and women's and home accessories license studios. Eric Mortensen won two Golden Thimble awards for his haute couture collections, one for the Autumn/Winter 83/84 and one for the Autumn/Winter 87/88. He left the house in 1990. After his departure, designer Hervé Pierre took over until 1992 working as director of ready-to-wear and haute couture. Possibly the most influential designer to take over at Balmain was

Oscar de la Renta Óscar Arístides Renta Fiallo (22 July 1932 – 20 October 2014), known professionally as Oscar de la Renta, was a Dominican fashion designer. Born in Santo Domingo, he was trained by Cristóbal Balenciaga and Antonio del Castillo. De la Renta ...

, who led the house between 1993 and 2002. Already a fashion veteran before joining Balmain, De la Renta brought a famous face to the brand Balmain. He lived in New York City most of his life, although he was born in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

and became a naturalized United States citizen in 1971. He fit into the Balmain design aesthetic, with an eye for detail and classic silhouettes. He, like Balmain, preferred modest and simple design rather than extremely ornamental and flashy styles. Couture had been suffering at the time since it was an extremely impractical business, so Oscar joined the brand in order to challenge himself and to help it through the beginning of the decline of couture. After Oscar de la Renta's departure Christophe Decarnin joined the house in 2005. Contrary to all the designers before him, Decarnin insisted on bringing the brand into the 21st century. He favored expensive prices and flashy pieces that sharply contrasted with the label's reputation for its classic and luxurious designs. He was considered a "star designer", and the brand became more about his star status than about its clothes. In April 2011, Balmain announced that Decarnin was to be replaced by

Olivier Rousteing Olivier Rousteing (; born September 13, 1985) is a French fashion designer. He has been the creative director of Balmain since 2011. Early life and education Rousteing was adopted by his parents at the age of 1. Rousteing's mother is an optici ...

. Rousteing had joined the company in 2009, after attending a prestigious French fashion school and working under

Roberto Cavalli Roberto Cavalli (; born 15 November 1940) is an Italian fashion designer and inventor. He is known for exotic prints and for creating the sand-blasted look for jeans. The high-end Italian fashion house Roberto Cavalli sells luxury clothing, per ...

. While he liked Decarnin's aesthetic, he wanted to orient the label towards the finer aspects of French couture. At the time of his appointment, Rousteing was a relatively unknown designer, and has brought a fresh take on the brand's aesthetic that remains to this day. He was credited with adding an Asian influence to the clothing, as Asia comprises a huge part of the brand's buyers.

Recent history

* in 1969 the singer/songwriter

Peter Sarstedt Peter Eardley Sarstedt (10 December 1941 – 8 January 2017) was a British singer-songwriter and instrumentalist. He was the brother of singers Eden Kane, a teenage pop idol and Clive Sarstedt, with both of whom he also recorded and performed ...

hits the top 40 with the song "

Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)? "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?" is a song by the British singer-songwriter Peter Sarstedt. Its recording was produced by Ray Singer, engineered by John Mackswith at Lansdowne Recording Studios and released in 1969. The music has been describe ...

". In the first couplet he sings about Balmain: "You talk like

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

and you dance like

Zizi Jeanmaire Renée Marcelle "Zizi" Jeanmaire (29 April 192417 July 2020) was a French ballet dancer, actress and singer. She became famous in the 1950s after playing the title role in the ballet ''Carmen'', produced in London in 1949, and went on to appear ...

. Your clothes are all made by Balmain and there's diamonds and pearls in your hair - yes there are." *In 2013, Balmain introduced their Care and Styling for Hair Couture. * In November 2015, Balmain released their collaboration with the international Swedish retail store H&M. *In April 2016, Balmain opened its New York flagship store in Soho. * On June 22, 2016, Balmain announced that their new owner will be Mayhoola Investments. * In 2017, Balmain's creative director Olivier Rousteing debuts Balmain's first accessory line. * On September 1, 2017, Balmain introduced their lipstick collection which was collaborated with L’Oreal. *On November 29, 2017, Balmain launched a capsule collection with

Victoria's Secret Victoria's Secret is an American lingerie, clothing, and beauty retailer known for high visibility marketing and branding, starting with a popular catalog and followed by an annual fashion show with supermodels dubbed Angels. As the largest ret ...

. *On December 4, 2018, Olivier Rousteing introduces Balmain's new logo. *On September 24, 2019, Balmain announced the capsule makeup collection, ''KYLIE X BALMAIN'', a collaboration with cosmetics entrepreneur,

Kylie Jenner Kylie Kristen Jenner (born August 10, 1997) is an American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman. She starred in the E! reality television series ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians'' from 2007 to 2021 and is the founder and owner of ...

. Jenner was also named Artistic Director for Makeup for the Spring-Summer 2020 Runway Collection.

Licensing

As of 2012, 50% of the company's total income is from license royalties.

Balmain and Inter Perfums Inc.

Licensing, development & production deal for 12 years starting from January 2012. $1.9 million, in fragrance sales in 2012, rising to $6.8 million in 2014 $4.2 million in 2016 sales declined 21 percent at average exchange declining 5.8 percent the previous year. Olivier terminated this contract in March 2017 due to declining sales. Production was turned over to Inter Parfums America temporarily, until Balmain can work out a deal with a new distributor for its 12 fragrances.

Head designers of Balmain

* 1945–1982:

*1982–1986: Peggy Huynh Kinh * 1982–1990: Erik Mortensen * 1990–1992: Hervé Pierre Braillard * 1993–2002:

* 2002-2003: Laurent Mercier * 2003–2006: Christophe Lebourg * 2006–2011: Christophe Decarnin * 2011–:

From 1947 to 1976 Balmain's ' (director) was Ginette Spanier.

References

{{Reflist, 29em

External links

NY Magazine profile
Clothing companies of France Haute couture High fashion brands Luxury brands French brands Companies based in Paris Clothing companies established in 1946 Design companies established in 1946 French companies established in 1946 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2004 8th arrondissement of Paris