Balmain news and archive

Balmain appoints former Givenchy exec as CEO

Luxury house Balmain has named Matteo Sgarbossa as its new chief executive officer, a post he will take up from May 6. Sgarbossa will be joining the brand from Givenchy, where he is currently serving as an international director and executive committee member. He will succeed Jean-Jacques Guével, who had announced his intention to step down from...

People

Balmain CEO steps down after four years

Jean-Jacques Guével has stepped down from his role as chief executive officer of Balmain after four years in the helm position. According to a statement issued to WWD from the French fashion house, his exit comes as he looks to “pursue other interests”, yet his next role was not immediately clear. To the media outlet, Guével said: “Balmain is...

People

Balmain marketing executive Txampi Diz departs

Txampi Diz, Balmain’s chief marketing officer since 2017, has left the Paris-based fashion house “to pursue other interests.” Diz first began working closely with Balmain in 2007 when he was the KCD vice president overseeing the brand’s international fashion public relations group in Paris. After Mayhoola assumed control of Balmain in 2016, Diz...

Business

Balmain begins teasing first beauty drop

Ahead of its autumn/winter 2024 show on Wednesday, French luxury label Balmain offered a taste of what is to come for its soon-to-be-launched beauty brand in a new campaign. ‘Projet Confidentiel’, the title of the campaign, teased a luxury fragrance by Balmain Beauty, set to launch in September 2024. In it, a matte-finished black unlabeled...

Fashion

Balmain accused of plagiarism

Olivier Rousteing, creative director of Balmain, is accused of plagiarism. Sarah Diouf, founder of Senegalese brand Tongoro, claimed Balmain's accessories shown at its FW24 men's fashion show in Paris bore a resemblance to her designs. Dominika, the owner of London-based brand Selfhood Official, also accused Balmain of plagiarism. On Tongoro...

Business

Paris gang arrested over Balmain fashion robbery

Six people have been arrested over the theft of some 50 items from French luxury brand Balmain last September that almost derailed its Paris Fashion Week show, a police source said Wednesday. The men, all aged in their twenties, were arrested the previous day in the Paris suburbs, the source told AFP, confirming information first reported in...

Fashion Featured

Best of 2023: Top 9 collaborations of the year

With only a few days to go until the end of 2023, FashionUnited has taken a look back at the key collaborations of the year ahead of a new chapter beginning 2024. Unexpected, quirky, original, there was something for everyone. The ultimate aim, however, was to offer fashion lovers something exclusive. Evian x Balmain Balmain x Evian collection...

Business

Balmain unveils AI-powered project for Unicorn sneakers

Luxury brand Balmain has revealed a partnership with Space Runners and American artist Ant Kai consisting of a project that leveraged artificial intelligence (AI) in order to elevate the personalisation of the house’s Unicorn sneakers. Putting to use Generative AI, Balmain and Space Runners aimed to offer “unparalleled freedom” for...

Business

Balmain introduces virtual fitting with Bods partnership

French luxury house Balmain has introduced customised and virtual fitting to its e-commerce site via a collaboration with tech firm Bods. Founded by Christine Marzano in 2021, Bods offers retailer’s 3D digital styling technology utilising artificial intelligence (AI) that allows clients to virtually try-on, style and accessorise pieces from...

Fashion Featured

A look into Beyoncé’s love of French fashion for her Renaissance tour

Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour is a record-breaking event. To date, it is the most lucrative tour ever for a Black artist, with profits estimated at 295.6 million dollars, beating her own record set in 2016 with the Formation World Tour, which earned 256 million dollars. The Renaissance World Tour is 57 concerts spanning the four corners of...

Fashion Featured

Balmain SS24 show: The apparent resilience of fashion workers

Presented on Wednesday evening, Balmain's spring/summer 2024 fashion show will be remembered for the theft suffered by the luxury label a few days earlier. It will also be celebrated for the work accomplished with resilience by the teams who had to work hard in order to offer a show on a date that had not been postponed. Balmain, spring/summer...

Fashion

Balmain races to recover from robbery at Paris Fashion Week

The fashion world loves drama but normally it does not involve violent robberies, so there is outsize attention on Wednesday's Balmain show after the French label had 50 outfits stolen just days earlier. Balmain's creative director Olivier Rousteing announced on September 17 that a driver had been "hijacked" on the way from a Paris airport to...