22 thoughts on “Balmainiac

  1. Cool_hand_lucan

    That reminds me of a succinct summary of The Wizard of Oz, “Two women fighting to death over a pair of shoes.”

    1. Kieran NYC

      My favorite is “Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first person she meets and then teams up with three strangers to kill again”.

  2. nellyb

    Reminded me of Sarsted’s lyrics
    “You talk like Marlene Dietrich
    And you dance like Zizi Jeanmaire
    Your clothes are all made by Balmain
    And there’s diamonds and pearls in your hair, yes there are.”

  3. Janet, I ate my avatar

    I cried a little inside walking past the crowd outside the H&M in Paris today … sleep outside to buy jeans that make you look like you slept outside.

    1. All the good ones fly south for winter

      It was actually love but it was more of a battlefield to be honest.

      1. Neilo

        You know, she never stopped using sex as a weapon, even though I hit her with my best shot. All Benatar, all the time.

        I never got the H&M frenzy over the designer tie-ins: who wants to look like a Kardsahianesque stuffed sausage? COS gives you all the Scandi style a wo/man needs for the same price or a little cheaper than the collabos.

  4. well, tat's that

    These designer collaboration with stores like H&M are designed to give a wider audience a feel for luxury at a lower price-point as a kind of gate way drug. In reality it leads to cheap skates going to town on each other over a mass produced garment, made of inferior materials to the main collection and then the inevitable calm after the storm where they won’t be seen dead in it because fashion snobs will look down there their noses at those wearing the H&M versions.

    It also damages the band for regular full-price paying clients who see these H&M collections as dilution of the brand’s value and overall a disservice to the brand and their patronage.

    1. Neilo

      Yes indeed. That’s the reason why the Crown Jewels of couture and accessories will never get involved in tie-ins. I don’t even know if you can buy a scarf in the classic Burberry tartan anymore: the scobes destroyed the brand.

      1. well, tat's that

        They do still produce it, and you can even get your monogram stitched into it. It was mega popular in Asia but the Burberry Group spent the bones of 1 billion USD trying to reinvent itself after the “Daniella Westbrook era”. They succeeded and didn’t use their check for years.

        In UK and Ireland it’s still very much a chav thing but is trying hard to re-introduce the scarf as a status symbol. Europeans, Americans and Asians alike all go for their trench coats still though.

        And the Crown Jewels do slip up sometimes. The Apple Watch and Hermes wasn’t received well by hardcore clients who saw a watch face that is designed to be obsolete in 2 years paired with a leather strap which is meant to be about a lifetime of service. I was offered one in Dublin, but declined because if the strap doesn’t fit the second generation Apple Watch, what’s the point of it?! Apple should’ve partnered with Gucci or Prada or Saint Laurent Paris.

        1. Neilo

          Yes to those suggested partners for Apple but only if entirely necessary. Gucci’s imperial phase has returned – I’m lucky enough to own three key pieces* from Ford’s last days there but Giannini is pushing him hard. It’s nice to meet someone with an interest in fashion ’round here.

          *Not a humblebrag, an actual brag

          1. well, tat's that

            It’s a slow and steady return to form for Gucci, and this 70s-there-is-no-trend-you’re-all-so-individual trend they’re peddling is working (shabby-chic ladies fucking love it, they’re like ‘I want my clothes to be as random and mis-matched as the handles in every room of my house which are all vintage and have a story atached’ {I’m a guy btw}) . It doesn’t work for me personally I think the men’s tailoring is a bit……eh, Laurence Llywelyn-Bowen (?). Tom Ford was their hay day, and I have a winter coat from that time too. It is impeccable. Frida did a lot of damage to Gucci by being so mediocre for so long but in 2-3 years time it’ll be on fire again. Prada, I fear, is beyond help. Hasn’t had good RTW in 4-5 years now and the shoes and bags have become stale (take our saffiano leather bag and get on your bike!) with even the latest box/duffel style bags already feeling lethargic and meh.

  5. Spaghetti Hoop

    Proud to stand up on the bus (in my mass-produced dull clothes) and declare I do not know what Balmain/ Balmania is or who Sarah Campbell is.

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