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Decarnin to Dress the Men

pepto pink balmain look on magdalena.jpgToday, WWD confirms the year-long rumor that Christophe Decarnin will extend his designs for Balmain to menswear, with a presentation at men’s Fashion Week this January in Paris, officially making him a part of the growing list of womenswear designers turning to the men.

While Christophe has certainly proven himself to be a designer customers love (it’s not everyone that can command a $1,400 price tag for a pair of jeans), we’re compelled to weigh both sides:

- Could a designer best known for slashed skirts, metallics, ass-grazing hemlines and a look Cathy Horyn so aptly summarized as “elegant trash” appropriate translate his general aesthetic to menswear? Because a work-appropriate suit could only really include zebra print if it was somehow worked into the lining, and where’s the fun in that?

- Are $20,000 suits (because you know that’s what they’ll cost) really a good idea right now anyway?

- Or will the line be the perfect complement to his womenswear, meant for the boy that parties between LA and Rome, who DJ’s and maybe paints to explain his living, making bejeweled tees and motorcycle jackets right at home in his Cavalli closet?

And most importantly, will it make it past a season? We all know Balmain men’s will get all the editorial support in the world, but what about the real world?

Guess he could surprise us all and make sharp, super-fitted, classic clothes - but then, why pay for that name tag?

Comments

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1

posted by guest

Nov 25, 2008 10:14AM

why wouldn't he create a complimentary mens line to the womens? ofcourse he will and all the djs and club crawlers will wear it.

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2

posted by guest

Nov 25, 2008 10:59AM

I agree w/ #1...the guy who wears these clothes will most likely not be the type of guy I would want to date, but there are tons and tons of the Cavalli-esque men you describe who will buy it, probably even in this financial climate.

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3

posted by guest

Nov 25, 2008 11:10AM

I wonder if it might take on a Hedi Slimane-era Dior Homme kind of look--one for the rockers and the red carpet daredevils. Think Dior Fall 07 and you'll see what I think Balmain might could look like come January.

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4

posted by guest

Nov 25, 2008 1:10PM

Okay, so question about those sandals that girl in the photo is wearing: am I right in assuming that Steve Madden came out with that design first and Christophe ripped it, or at the very least did a variation on Madden's design? Because I've been seeing the Steve Madden ones all over SoHo since late summer and that image is from Christophe's Spring 2009 collection right?

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5

posted by guest

Nov 25, 2008 1:10PM

Okay, so question about those sandals that girl in the photo is wearing: am I right in assuming that Steve Madden came out with that design first and Christophe ripped it, or at the very least did a variation on Madden's design? Because I've been seeing the Steve Madden ones all over SoHo since late summer and that image is from Christophe's Spring 2009 collection right?

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