Balmain (company)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Balmain SA

logo
legal form Société Anonyme (France)
founding 1945
Seat Paris , France
management Emmanuel Diemoz, CEO

Olivier Rousteing , creative director

Branch Textiles , leather goods , perfumes
Website www.balmain.com

Balmain or the Pierre Balmain SA is a 1945 by French couturier Pierre Balmain based fashion company with headquarters in Paris .

Especially in the 1950s and 1960s, the Balmain house, which has also been selling perfumes since 1947 , with elegant haute couture for women, alongside Dior and Jacques Fath, was one of the leading international fashion companies for upscale Parisian fashion. Following the sale of the company by Pierre Balmain in 1977 and less successful times from the 1980s onwards, Balmain had belonged to a French investor group since 1995 and was on the verge of bankruptcy in 2004 . Only since 2006 has Balmain, which has been producing high-priced ready-to-wear fashion for women since 1982 and, with interruptions, for men since 1986, been a trend-setting and coveted fashion brand in the upper price segment again worldwide . The Haute Couture fashion from Balmain was presented for the last time in 2003 and was discontinued in 2004 as part of the restructuring . Since June 2016, the company owned by the investment fund Mayhoola for Investments from Qatar .

Company history

Company foundation and heyday

After a fashion training at Edward Molyneux and activities for other Parisian fashion company Frenchman Pierre Balmain founded (1914-1982) in the autumn of 1945, the brand Pierre Balmain and opened his own fashion atelier for haute couture in 44, Rue François 1er, near the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris . He presented his first collection there on October 12, 1945. Balmain, who had studied architecture for a few semesters from 1933 , subsequently became known for highly elegant, detailed evening gowns and was quickly able to achieve great success with his figure-hugging designs. In the years that followed, the Balmain company stood for sophisticated feminine women's fashion of the upper segment, often with elaborate yet subtle embroidery decorations, and embodied the epitome of Parisian haute couture together with Christian Dior and Jacques Fath. Before the Second World War, Pierre Balmain worked with Christian Dior for the Parisian couturier Lucien Lelong .

Typical for Balmain fashion were the simple, elegant and at the same time imposing evening dresses, the use of fur decorations , tweed ensembles and stoles, scarves or flounces as accessories . Prominent customers of the Balmain company during this time included Queen Sirikit of Thailand , the Queen of Yugoslavia , the Duchess of Windsor , Brigitte Bardot , Maria Callas , Hildegard Knef and Lilli Palmer . Even today, vintage models from this period, such as those worn by Penélope Cruz , Angelina Jolie or Kate Moss , are still fetching high prices. Through a personal friendship with the American writer Gertrude Stein and her circle of friends, Balmain opened the US market in the 1940s.

In 1946, the first women's perfume from the house of Balmain under the name was Elysee 64-83 (64-83 was the phone number of the studios) launched . Other fragrances, including classics such as Monsieur Balmain for men (1949), Jolie Madame (1953) or Ivoire (1980), followed. 1960 Balmain sold the lucrative perfume business to the American cosmetics group Revlon . In 1947, Pierre Balmain went on a world tour with his creations, which took him to Australia , among other places . In 1949 a Balmain boutique was opened in New York City with ready-to- wear fashion exclusively for the American market. His great success in the US consisted of translating French chic into slightly larger sizes for American women. In 1954, a Balmain store opened in Venezuela . Over the years numerous designers worked as assistants at Balmain, including Gerard Pipart from 1948, John Cavanagh from 1947 to 1951 and Karl Lagerfeld from 1955 to 1958. Lagerfeld had entered a fashion competition for which Pierre Balmain was on the jury. Lagerfeld's design for a women's wool coat went into series production at Balmain and he was employed as a designer himself.

Pierre Balmain also designed theatrical and film costumes. In 1951 Marlene Dietrich wore Balmain in The Journey into the Unknown. In 1952 Balmain furnished Katharine Hepburn in the play The Millionairess , in 1955 Vivien Leigh in the film The Deep Blue Sea as well as in The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961). Even Sophia Loren and Natalie Wood appeared in Balmain on screen. From the end of the 1960s onwards, the Balmain house, which was still associated with elegant and conservative women's fashion in times of social upheaval , increasingly lost its influence.

In 1965 Balmain provided the TWA's flying personnel with uniforms and in 1972 the cabin crew of Singapore Airlines . In 1985 the French police were provided with Balmain uniforms, in 1990 the French armed forces and in 1994 the Eurostar personnel.

Changing years

In 1977 Pierre Balmain sold his company to the French knitwear manufacturer Montagut after less successful years , but remained in the group as chief designer. The Frenchman and Montagut founder Léo Gros (1921–2003) became managing director and majority shareholder. After Pierre Balmain's death in 1982 - according to Balmain's will - his Danish assistant and partner , Erik Mortensen, designed the house's haute couture collection since 1948 . In 1982, a prêt-à-porter line for women was introduced worldwide. From the 1980s onwards, the Balmain company had to increasingly defend itself against brand pirates and their Balmain counterfeits from the Asian region.

The Balmain company changed hands several times in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1986, the Canadian investment group Zanimob ( Produits Parfums et Cosmetiques Universels ) from Montréal, led by businessman Erich Fayer and two other investors, acquired the majority of Balmain and also bought back the perfume business from Revlon. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the image of Balmain under Zanimob was watered down by countless licenses in a wide variety of product segments, including men's fashion and champagne , and Balmain lost its reputation as an exclusive haute couture brand. In 1989 the former LVMH boss Alain Chevalier bought the Balmain company for 550 million francs , but had to sell it back to Zanimob in 1991 due to poor sales and high losses.

Erik Mortensen, who had continued the Pierre Balmain-style collections and left the company in 1990, was followed by Hervé Pierre Braillard, who was still hired by Mortensen, as chief designer of the Haute Couture division at Balmain from 1990 to 1993, and the American star designer Oscar de from 1993 to 2002 la Renta and, most recently, Frenchman Laurent Mercier for one season in 2003. Under de la Renta, who was also responsible for the ready-to-wear collection for a few seasons, and his elegant designs in the style of Pierre Balmain, the Balmain house experienced a renaissance. The chief designers of Balmain's prêt-à-porter fashion have also been exchanged frequently over the years: Peggy Huyn-Kinh (1980s), Alistair Blair (only 1990), Hervé Pierre Braillard (from 1990 to 1993, also haute couture), Oscar de la Renta (from 1993 to 1996, also Haute Couture), Andrew Gn (from 1997 to 1998), Gilles Dufour - a former Chanel designer and Lagerfeld confidante - (from 1998 to 2000), Laurent Mercier (from 2001 to 2003, also Haute Couture) and Christophe Lebourg (from 2003 to 2004). In 1994, under the designer Bernard Sanz, who previously worked for Yves Saint Laurent , a men's fashion collection was designed in Paris, after it had been licensed for men under the name of Balmain under the Canadian leadership as early as 1986 with the designer Patrick Aubert. Balmain menswear was temporarily abandoned in the late 1990s.

Since 1995 the fashion house has belonged to a group of investors led by Frenchman Jean Lecendreux, who installed his compatriot Alain Hivelin (1943–2014) as a PDG at Balmain. In July 2003 and January 2004, Balmain did not take part in the Haute Couture fashion shows in Paris. In May 2004, the company had to take protection from creditors for two years due to the threat of bankruptcy as part of a reorganization . In the summer of 2004 it was announced that Balmain is giving up the haute couture division. The last Haute Couture fashion show from Balmain for the time being took place at the end of January 2003 under the direction of the then chief designer Laurent Mercier.

New start from 2006

From February 2006, after turbulent times and a two-year absence from the catwalks, the Balmain house again showed extremely successful prêt-à-porter collections, created by the former Paco Rabanne designer Christophe Decarnin , who was discontinued at the end of 2005 . The hallmarks of the new Balmain women's fashion were bulky shoulder pads , gold zippers , rhinestone applications, tight cuts, perforated fabrics and military influences. Balmain turned into the hip 'It label', the 'rock star chic' triggered a true 'Balmania', sales prices were in the top segment and sales grew by 50% annually. Even Michael Jackson wore Balmain fashion at this time, although it was actually intended for women. For the Paris men's shows in autumn 2008, it was speculated that Balmain would present a men's collection again after many years. Decarnin then showed his first men's collection for Balmain in spring 2009 in Paris for the autumn / winter 2009-10 season with slim silhouettes, black leather jackets , ripped jeans , frayed shirt collars and t-shirts with holes . Since then, Balmain men's fashion has been offered twice a year.

Decarnin left Balmain in the spring of 2011. Shortly afterwards, the former Roberto Cavalli designer Olivier Rousteing , who had worked as a women's fashion designer for Balmain since 2009, was appointed as his successor . In mid-2011, under license cooperation with Ittierre, the less price-intensive Pierre Balmain second line (the working title Balmain Blue had been discarded) was launched for spring / summer 2012 for women and men , for which an Italian design team was responsible. Balmain terminated the license agreement with Ittiere at the end of 2013 and from then on took care of the second line itself. In 2017 the Pierre Balmain second line was discontinued.

In November 2015, H&M, in collaboration with Balmain, offered a limited collection for women and men designed by Rousteing in H&M stores worldwide, which was priced below the other Balmain sales prices.

Alain Hivelin died in early December 2014. Since then, the Balmain company has been 70% owned by its heirs and 30% by some Balmain managers. In June 2016 it was announced that the investment fund Mayhoola for Investments from Qatar , which also owns the Valentino fashion house (company) , had bought the Balmain fashion house. The total price of 485 million euros was named in the press. At the end of 2018, Balmain presented a new company logo with a capital B and a P.

Balmain Hair

Hair care cosmetics, hair pieces and hair extensions have also been offered under license under the name Balmain since 1974 . At the beginning of the 1970s, when wigs were fashionable as accessories, Pierre Balmain launched the licensing division Balmain Perruques with the Dutch wig maker Dick Guliker . Guliker's Euro Hair company licensed Balmain products. In the 1980s and 90s, the demand for the products decreased. Under the Balmain CEO Alain Hivelin, the hair division was revived in 2000 and Euro Hair was renamed Balmain Hair by the Guliker heirs . At the Balmain fashion shows , Balmain Hair is entrusted with the styling of the models. The company has a flagship store called L'Atelier Balmain Hair Couture in Paris.

Others

Musically, Balmain was introduced with the text “ Your clothes are all made by Balmain ” (German: 'Your clothes are all made by Balmain') in the title Where do you go to my lovely? (1969) immortalized by Peter Sarstedt . Nicki Minaj also rapped " And when we were done - I make him buy me Balmain " (German: ' And when we're done here, I'll get him to buy me Balmain') in her song "Anaconda" (2014) . Balmain found another musical appearance in 2014 in the song “Balmain Jeans” by the American artist “Kid Cudi”. The brand was also found in the text of the 2017 published "Gucci Gang" by rapper Lil Pump. "I can't buy a bitch no wedding ring - Rather go and buy Balmains".

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Here comes the jet set , derstandard.at, October 29, 2009.
  2. ^ The branch in the Balmain rush , sueddeutsche.de, May 17, 2010.
  3. ↑ Aus dem Schneider , sueddeutsche.de, April 7, 2011.
  4. ↑ Paris set to crown Christophe Decarnin as its new fashion king , guardian.co.uk, March 1, 2009.
  5. ^ In Paris , spiegel.de, March 26, 1949.
  6. ↑ Voguepedia: Balmain ( Memento of the original from January 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , vogue.com, accessed: December 23 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.vogue.com
  7. ↑ Famed Parisian Couturier Jacques Fath Is Revived , pr-inside.com, November 29, 2012.
  8. ^ The heights of fashion , telegraph.co.uk, September 15, 2007.
  9. ↑ Sirikit , spiegel.de, August 1, 1962.
  10. ^ The Queen of Thai Silk , nytimes.com, September 28, 2012.
  11. ↑ Balmain , elle.de, accessed: December 23, 2012.
  12. ↑ Designer Fashion Label: Balmain , nymag.com, accessed: December 23
  13. ↑ Voguepedia: Balmain ( Memento of the original from January 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , vogue.com, accessed: December 23 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.vogue.com
  14. ↑ Oscar 2009: Excellent ( Memento of the original from December 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , glamour.de, February 2009.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.glamour.de
  15. ↑ You can rely on the vanity fair even in times of crisis , welt.de, February 24, 2009.
  16. ↑ Balmain Offspring , May 27, 2011.
  17. ↑ Vogueencyclo: Balmain ( Memento of the original dated December 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , vogue.it, accessed: December 23, 2012. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.vogue.it
  18. ↑ Where Kaiser Karl sets the tone , nordbayern.de, January 20, 2012.
  19. ^ French army parades chic new uniforms , deseretnews.com, November 26, 1989.
  20. ↑ Billion dollar deals of the brand stealers , zeit.de, March 22, 1985.
  21. ↑ Erich Fayer, Canadian Owner Of the Balmain Fashion House , nytimes.com, April 7, 1995.
  22. ^ Fashion: Patterns , nytimes.com, November 24, 1987.
  23. ↑ # 93; = 372962 Couture is the backbone of fashion. ( Memento of the original from November 26, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on: textilwirtschaft.de , February 18, 1993.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.textilwirtschaft.de
  24. ↑ Alain Chevalier, une plume de luxe ( Memento of the original dated December 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , lepoint.fr, July 26, 1997. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.lepoint.fr
  25. ^ Fashion: Patterns , nytimes.com, June 4, 1991.
  26. ↑ Balmain: Alain Chevalier jetterait l'éponge , lesechos.fr, May 3 1,991th
  27. ↑ Balmain - the label fashionmodeldirectory.com (English)
  28. ↑ De la Renta's golden farewell , spiegel.de, July 2, 2002.
  29. ^ Balmain Announces New Couturier , apnewsarchive.com, June 26, 1990.
  30. ↑ Creative fashion despite the crisis ( Memento from December 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), netzeitung.de, July 9, 2002.
  31. ↑ Balmain files for debt protection ('Balmain applies for creditor protection')  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. vogue.co.uk (English)@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.vogue.co.uk  
  32. ↑ Olivier Rousteing is the new chief designer at Balmain , vogue.de.
  33. ↑ Balmain Crocodile Tail Leather Jacket for $ 73,000, DJcouture.wordpress.com, January 15, 2010.
  34. ↑ Freaky or fabulous: Michael Jackson in Balmain , fabsugar.com, June 17, 2010.
  35. ↑ Balmain Buzz: Christophe Decarnin Sailing Into Menswear ('Balmain enthusiasm: Christophe Decarnin heads for men's clothing') ( Memento of the original from April 16, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. papermag.com (English)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.papermag.com
  36. ↑ Putting the man in balmain ('dressing the man in Balmain') ( memento of the original from June 17, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. vogue.co.uk (English)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.vogue.co.uk
  37. ↑ Balmain: chief designer Christophe Decarnin goes , textilwirtschaft.de, April 6, 2011th
  38. ^ Balmain: Olivier Rousteing becomes chief designer , textilwirtschaft.de, April 27, 2011.
  39. ↑ Balmain's affordable second line is called Pierre Balmain , vogue.de, August 2, 2011.
  40. ↑ Ittierre loses Pierre Balmain's license ( memento of the original from January 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , textilwirtschaft.de, November 29, 2013  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.textilwirtschaft.de
  41. ↑ Qatar Fund takes over French fashion house Balmain , derstandard.at, June 22, 2016
  42. ↑ Balmain Hair (official website)
  43. ^ The Business of Balmain's Big Hair Swap , businessoffashion.com, March 27, 2016