Daily Front Row

2013 February 28

Paris Fall 2013: Balmain

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Balmain Fall 2013
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(PARIS) Balmain 
Leave it to the houses that defined '80s sex appeal on the runways to revive the era's extravagance. In Milan, Versace chose to focus on punk. Here at Balmain, creative director Olivier Rousteing chose Dynasty. Shoulder pads, anyone? Big shoulders are a huge theme at plenty of shows this Fall, but here they were dramatically squared off. Who better to do a dramatic shoulder than Balmain? A white angora turtleneck sweater with broad shoulders was paired with gold lamé pants (flashy!). A black, broader-than-broad suit jacket (sparkly!) with white lapels was worn over a different sweater, cinched with a big gold belt to ratchet up the flare factor. Touching on the Harlequin theme from Spring, a hot pink diamond print, sequined one-shoulder top was paired with draped pants of the same hue, cinched and belted at the waist and topped with oversized chandelier earrings. A deeply spliced leather top with elaborately draped shoulders mingled with diamond patterned, gold and black MC hammer-style pants. Saucy good fun, to the same extent that an emerald green lamé jumpsuit seemed stage-ready. Maybe a bit too close to home for those who donned these looks during their original heyday. But for the style set a few decades younger? There's plenty to relish...