Balmain's SS24 Menswear Collection Calls on Its Founder's Global Influences
With modern plays on Vietnamese, South Korean and Japanese souvenir jackets, as well as new iterations of Pierre Balmain’s lucky swallow motif.
For Balmain’s Spring/Summer 2024 menswear collection, creative director Olivier Rousteing looked to founder Pierre Balmain’s travels across Asia for a sartorial starting point. Staged inside the storied boutique at 44 Rue Fraçois 1er, the line offered a stylistic melting pot of continental references that were tethered by Parisian design codes.
Souvenir coats, nodding to those brought to the U.S. by combat personnel from Vietnam, South Korea and Japan, made exuberant statements with unapologetic, ornamental decor. Fiery dragon motifs and kite illustrations added a distinctly Asian flair to blousons and varsity jackets, respectively, while top coats left the colorful prints exclusively to their lapels.
Outside of this, Rousteing set a focal point on the swallow motif, one that has long been coined as a symbol of good luck for the House’s founder. The illustration appeared in beaded embroideries, and its shape informed the line’s deconstructed tailoring and sectional panels.
Trousers adopted slim-fitting, boot-cut facades, while Cuban boots, in black, white and red finishes, offered an elegant finish to several ensembles. While billed as a menswear collection, many silhouettes veered into the genderless category. In fact, per the designer, 20% of the range is meant to be unisex, with accessible sizing.
See Balmain’s Spring/Summer 2024 menswear collection in the gallery above.
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