If you follow the fashion blogs as closely as I do, you may remember Pink and Shakira showing up to the same event in the same, amazing dress.
Or Penelope Cruz rocking this vintage number:
After I feasted my eyes on this beautiful creation, I quickly Googled 'Balmain' to peruse the collection. Everything I saw was covered in sparkles, spikes, studs, or holes (in a good way). It was like a wanna-be rockstar's dream.
I pulled my tongue back into my mouth and went on to read about the history of the company. It was no surprise that the designs come from Paris, France, the fashion capital of the world. The line was started by Pierre Balmain, who came from a family who was familiar with textiles and loved clothing. His mother and sisters owned a fashion boutique in the 1920's/30's, and though he first went to school for architecture, his heart always remained with fashion, which eventually he went on to pursue.
Balmain designed for his line until he passed away in 1982. Such designers as Herve Pierre, Oscar de la Renta and Laurent Mercier took over the designing roles in the years to follow, but most recently Christophe Decarnin has taken over the Balmain line.
He has put an edge into the fashion line that only a true French bred designer could pull off. If you can afford a $5,000 coat, or $2,000 shoes, then put that money into this brand. It's fashion forward, fabulously designed, and worth every penny (unfortunately, I don't have that many pennies saved yet).
