There are the individual pieces of Balmain‘s spring 2011 offering that I know will be successful. The leather capri pants will be in hot demand and we’ll undoubtedly cover them in many a street style photo. The silver tones throughout the collection will be perfectly on trend once the season arrives. And certain takes on short-shorts are so hacked up that they’re sure to inspire a thousand ‘interpretations’. All this I know. And yet, I loathe to say, something is amiss. All the looks feel a bit done, a little bit like what we’re used to. Certainly, the quality will be there. But this is Balmain under Christophe Decarnin – I’ve come to expect more. I’ve come to expect a label able to take the season’s key trends, fused them into a sole collection, and then take it to a stratospheric level. I’ve come to expect a label that can keep a tend going simply though excellent, extravagant design. I’ve come to expect a label with its finger on the pulse. Alas, punk is neither on trend nor extravagant, and what Balmain has brought to it all feels a little bit too done and dusted for 2011.
More looks after the jump.
Pictures via Style.com where you can see the rest of the catwalk.
