A couple of months after his debut last March at the dusty house of Balmain, designer Christophe Decarnin, formerly with Paco Rabanne, got the kind of help that is vital in fashion’s celebrity-centric culture.
Audrey Tautou sashayed down the Cannes red carpet in one of his audacious, thigh-skimming dresses, giving Balmain serious media play around the world. The icing on the cake came later that same week when Sofia Coppola wore another of Decarnin’s Balmain confections, also at Cannes.
But buzz alone does not a fashion house make. And Decarnin knows that to position Balmain as a modern player will not be easy. After all, the house’s image plunged deep into fashion’s hinterlands after Oscar de la Renta stopped doing its couture. The list of designers that followed all failed to rally the house. And there was even speculation in Paris that the once-illustrious house would close.
“I know there’s a lot to be done,” said Decarnin, 40. “Balmain had very little image when I arrived. I liked that situation. It allows me to do what I want. I have a blank slate.”
Colette in Paris was the only store to buy Decarnin’s debut line, but the designer said several American stores already have appointments to view the collection.
The soft-spoken Decarnin described the style he wants to cultivate at the house as a mélange of couture savoir faire and grittier rock ’n’ roll glamour.
So far, that has translated into ornate embroidery, gauzy T-shirts and short dresses.
“I like short dresses,” he said. “They’ve got the energy of a modern girl: She goes out to dinner, goes dancing, hops on the back of a motorcycle. She can move in the dress.”
Added Decarnin, who will attack the vital accessories category next: “We want to be a brand that matters. Balmain remains a magical name to me.”