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Explain Apr 9, 2009 @ 12:57pm

BAL-it’s over-IA

vicky b does balmain.jpg The downward spiral began when Victoria Beckham wore it.

Then we read that Moscow housewives are “shipping them in by the truckload” - the official death knell.

We’re talking, of course, about Balmania - the fastest spreading fashion virus ever.

Let’s talk about the “design genius” that made Christophe Decarnin famous in the first place: Very suspect looking shoulders on Michael Jackson jackets. And how about the ten, eleven thousand dollar price tags? We didn’t understand until we decided that editors rave and obsess because mere mortals simply cannot have them. And really, neither can actual journalists - unless of course they’re married to a tycoon. So they fawn over Balmain, even though Decarnin makes his darlings look like fashion robot victims.

A point driven home at Selfridges this morning when three very cool London girls stood over the (full) Balmain rack and squealed,”Ewww!”

—CHARLEY B.

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posted by guest

Apr 09, 2009 1:06PM

I would never wear strong shoulders like Balmain but I do like it on other people. I agree with you that it's a trend that will be fading quickly.

posted by guest

Apr 09, 2009 1:19PM

Jealousy much.

posted by guest

Apr 09, 2009 1:22PM

I like fashion for it's versatility and creative possibilities, but I have never understood the craze over Balmain. I would never buy those jackets (especially with such an astronomical price tag).

I agree with Guest #1, some women can really pull off the Balmain look, and they can wear the jackets well.

Maybe it's because I'm not a fan of the 80s and the overstated shoulders remind me of that time in fashion, but I won't be sorry to see the trend dissipate.

posted by guest

Apr 09, 2009 1:39PM

This reminds me of that quote by Elber Albaz in the New Yorker. The one were he says something about how he would hate to be the "it" designer because it means that you are just a fad. I think that might be what Balmain is.

posted by guest

Apr 09, 2009 2:25PM

Oh pleasee you are so hypocritical, if its not your cup of tea dont wear it, who are you to call people that love it as fashion robots?Be less narrow minded, and if i may add i think that Beckham looks fantastic in this look, because of her attitude, it doesnt overpower her presence.And i usually dont like her style at all, but if you are gonna blame someone for bringing the brand down, try in other places.

posted by guest

Apr 09, 2009 2:26PM

This is off subject but I don't get Posh. I don't get why she is a "fashion icon." She just seems like a wealthy woman that shops a lot and buys what she thinks she should be wearing. I just wish someone could tell me why this woman is heralded as a fashion icon and why she matters. A retail icon yes but fashion icon not really.

posted by Lala

Apr 09, 2009 2:37PM

TO 6:

She is a fashion icon, because she has a distinct personal style, never plays it safe and understand's fashion, and how it works best for her, more than any other celeb out there.All of which is appreciated by fashion designers, its her drive and fantastic sense of humor that just adds to her overall presence.

I think your wealthy woman argument is purse nonsense!Every fashionista wears mostly expensive clothes, at least Posh makes them her own with her accessories and attitude.No amount of money can buy you taste, she was born with it,imho.She is one of the last old school women who arent afraid to be high maintenance, that we have.Everyone is scared of being accused they are trying to hard, she dosent give a shit and wears what she wants.

And mostly she has earned the title by being INCREDIBLY consistant and fun with her fashion.The fact that Marc Jacobs named a bag after her, and Gimabattista Valli named a pair of sandals from his s/s 08 collection after her, just adds to the fact that some designers appreciate her.

If Kate Hudson can be called a style icon sometimes, then Beckham at least brings more to the table.

posted by guest

Apr 09, 2009 2:44PM

#7 I couldn't have said it better myself! I love this lady!!!!

posted by guest

Apr 09, 2009 2:47PM

Well not everyone agrees about fashion icons we have today, so its all a matter of opinion.Alexa Chung does nothing for me.However VB has prooven that she has a pretty strong fan base of women who adore her style and consider her a real Style Icon.
But imo she is one because she evokes so much interest simply by putting an outfit on, not many women today can cut their hair and be on the covers of papers or on Cnn because of it, garner that much attention.
Get haircuts named after their newest cuts, and appear on best and worst dressed lists at the same time.So i think she is an absolute hoot, i love her in that Balmain and think she totally worked it.MJ once said that no matter what she wears, or which designers its HER you always notice first!

posted by guest

Apr 09, 2009 2:47PM

But does she, in fact, choose her fashion or is it carefully put together by a stylist?
I suppose that she has final say in what she ends up wearing but wouldn't a stylist have a strong influence on her image?
Not hating, just asking.

posted by guest

Apr 09, 2009 2:58PM

posted by guest

Apr 09, 2009 3:19PM

I am already self-conscious of my wide-for-my-frame shoulders, thus I will not be participating in this trend. (not that I could afford the original source anyway!)

posted by guest

Apr 09, 2009 3:29PM

She is not a fashion Icon. Comenter # 7 clearly forgot all about the diamond ass encrusted VB jeans she made...and her stint with Rock and Republic (YUCK!). She doesn't start trends, she wears them. I will give her points for never dressing down- even at Disneyland. But that is where it ends! I'm sorry but when I think ICON, I think Tina Chow, and in more recent times, Tilda Swinton. That is someone who does something out of the ordinary, and pulls of a look that is sometimes less than human.

posted by shharvin

Apr 09, 2009 3:58PM

I'm actually a really big fan of the Balmain jackets, especially the acid wash band jacket. I've always have a thing for band jackets, though; it's very Sgt. Peppers. Anyways, if someone likes a certain trend, let them wear it! If others don't like it, who cares? What matters is that what you wear makes you feel confident in yourself. If Balmain tennis ball shoulders do the trick, great!

Charley B., stop hating on people who like different things than you do. It's really terrible and makes YOU look bad, not the girls wearing things you hate.

posted by shharvin

Apr 09, 2009 4:00PM

I'm actually a really big fan of the Balmain jackets, especially the acid wash band jacket. I've always have a thing for band jackets, though; it's very Sgt. Peppers. Anyways, if you like a certain trend, wear it! If others don't like it, who cares? What matters is that what you wear makes you feel confident in yourself. If Balmain tennis ball shoulders do the trick, great!

Charley B., stop hating on people who like different things than you do. It's really mean and makes only YOU look bad, not the girls wearing things you hate.

posted by guest

Apr 09, 2009 4:04PM

Cate Blanchett is a style icon. Kate Moss is a style icon. Victoria Beckham is not a style icon; I believe NYT Style once ran an article on how leading designers- Prada, Balenciaga, etc.- and their PR people are constantly trying to prevent her from wearing their ware. To them, it is a death knell if she wears their creations.

Balmain's certainly got attitude and spunk, but it is overrated. And overrated has a tendency to be short-lived.

posted by guest

Apr 09, 2009 4:35PM

I find all of your writing very negative & hateful.

Its really bringing Fashionista down.

I do hope a new editor takes post very soon & reigns your nonsense in already.

posted by guest

Apr 09, 2009 5:03PM

these jackets are unfortunately the sort of trend that is so much more appealing when it's original or rare... it's whole appeal lies in it's newness. very short-lived. i admit i was in love when i first saw them but now i'm just sick of it.

posted by guest

Apr 09, 2009 5:37PM

Once again, you guys negatively bring down a great designer.

I love his collections. It's not a fad. He has been around .

Do you have anything to say about the dresses that he makes or are you just going to talk about the jackets.

The sandals, the jeans?

Every time I come on here, there's a new b*tchy post to be had.

Whether any of you like it or not, Posh is a style icon. I won't wear everything she wears, but I certainly like the way that she puts HER style together.

And don't EVER put quotation marks around the words design genius. How incredibly rude.

posted by guest

Apr 09, 2009 5:54PM

The whole snide tone of the post reinforces the notion that fashion is not about creativity, individual style, or eye-catching design, but rather about exclusivity, class divisions, and snob appeal. At the same time that you criticize editors for liking something because it's exclusive, you snark on that same item because "moscow housewives are shipping them in by the truckload". Such hypocrisy.

posted by guest

Apr 09, 2009 6:35PM

Balmain is so insanely popular I believe in large part because of French Vogue and its editors. Considering that Emmanuelle Alt styles Balmain's shows it isn't surprising that certain French ladies are photographed in it and it is in most issues. Pay for play?

Just an opinion and a question....

posted by guest

Apr 09, 2009 6:36PM

I didn't see the post as being one that was "hating on Victoria." VBecks is a much more recognized public figure than Della Russa, and while all the Parisian fashion week goers are wearing Balmain jackets...does anyone in the majority of the public care? Does the majority of the public even know?

Probably not.

I think Charley is just saying that once someone like VBecks wears an item, then it will be reproduced cheaply and worn by hundreds of wanna-be Victorias.

Something that is (or was) very original will now just fall into the category of fad.

No one discounts that Balmain has been around, but has it been in the public eye to this caliber?

One last thing. The great thing about Fashion is expression. You don't have to like everything that comes down the runway, ends up in editorials, gets designed for Topshop. It doesn't make one a snob to like one designer over another. They are just preferring one style to another. And when you call someone a "snob" for not liking a certain designer's wears, you should include yourself in that description. Because why can you make snippy comments to someone who is just expressing their opinions as much as you are? That's hypocrisy at its finest.

posted by guest

Apr 09, 2009 8:15PM

Number eleven! I own her book of style tips, she claims to have never had a stylist. She wrote that she had one for a day and immediately got rid of her.

posted by guest

Apr 09, 2009 9:02PM

i think over-exaggerated shoulders make women look weak.

it makes you look like your shrugging because you're indecisive or you're trying to hard to be a burly man.

i mean, who wants to be a burly man?

posted by guest

Apr 09, 2009 9:04PM

sorry,

frustration and shitty internet connections don't make for good posts.

posted by etoilee8

Apr 10, 2009 12:01AM

Love this post. I found it hilarious, you people commenting and being all snippy and sensitive need to lighten up. You're dragging this site down, not the writers.

posted by guest

Apr 10, 2009 12:47AM

#16 said it perfectly.

posted by guest

Apr 10, 2009 7:56AM

i really like some of the comments of #19. i agree that the jackets are slightly overrated and definitely overpriced but i don't know why the focus is so completely on them. some of the recent dresses are dazzling and beautiful.

posted by guest

Apr 10, 2009 9:13AM

Finally someone calls out the emperor's designer. It's great to see people who take risks with fashion as a sign of creativity or originality. But most of the people who swoop in on these things are doing it because they're jumping on trends...wait for it, like robots. Not because they seem some creative irony in wearing a power shoulder or look from a time of excess when everyone else is trying to do understated.

That said, is no one here old enough to remember the 80s? If you liked the era, fine, enjoy the clothes. But there's no need to take "genius" out of quotes because someone decided to revisit the era at an astronomical price.

Someone near a good vintage store, or with great hand me downs could easily have the same stroke of "genius." If you want to talk genius let's discuss the Balmain PR and marketing people who can make people obsessively defend Decarnin's trip down memory lane as something more than that.

posted by guest

Apr 10, 2009 11:19AM

Just makes her look even more like a skeleton. Next Halloween I'm putting a wax Victoria Beckham in my yard to scare all the kids.

posted by guest

Apr 10, 2009 10:12PM

i cannot believe people think victoria beckham is a style icon!!! ahh!!! i think i saw her wear an entire outfit made out of grey suede (as in, hat, purse, jacket, and skirt) on her way out of an airport about a month ago. there is such a great amount of effort and so little amount of style in all of her outfits i can't even believe anybody would have this conversation of whether she's a style icon or not. and also: the editors of all these fashion magazines are sooooo lame! all wearing black and acting like punks-- acid wash jeans, pyramid studs, and those jackets. how lame! they're not goth punks! but they insist on being fashion drones...so disappointing. WAY TO GO FASHIONISTA!

posted by guest

Apr 11, 2009 1:18AM

#20 you are absolutely right that this post is all about "exclusivity, class divisions, and snob appeal".

You said it much better than I could. Though I do have to admit that watching this snob appeal (and the hypocrisy about it) are the reason why this site is one of my guilty pleasures.

posted by etoilee8

Apr 11, 2009 3:07AM

Class division . . . puh-lease people. Victoria Beckham came from a pretty well off family and I wouldn't say she's doing too bad right now either, so you can drop that whole argument. I like VB, I really do. She seems kind of funny and not afraid to laugh at herself. But I wouldn't go so far to call her a style icon. She just tries too way hard. Effortlessly stylish will always reign over painfully riding trends like no tomorrow.

posted by rickeyg303

Apr 11, 2009 11:02AM

hahaha i love how worked up people are getting about this post. a. balmain jackets are gross and people need to get over them, just like you said. b. this is a FASHION blog... people need to chill out, take their own advice, and accept other people's opinions.

no but really, i agree, whyyyyy are those jackets so popular and when is that going to fade?!

posted by guest

Apr 11, 2009 9:18PM

I love it that Charley isn't afraid to call a spade a spade. Come on ladies...stop guzzling the kool-aid and wake up to critical journalism. I'm surprised at the number of sheep herding on this blog. VB is just a woman with too much time on her hands, a very middling eponymous collection and a passion for the photo op. It's called getting by , making lots of money sniffing her own gas.
fluff chance.....yes me again who finds your narrow minded school girl views so painfully amusing.If you all love it so desperately , put your money where your mouths are and fork it over.Show Christophe the kind of love he and Balmain can understand.
fluff chance
http://emperorsoldclothes.blogspot.com

posted by etoilee8

Apr 12, 2009 7:51PM

J'adore Fluff!

posted by guest

Apr 14, 2009 2:55PM

Has anyone read VB book?

posted by guest

Apr 14, 2009 3:43PM

Balmain jackets have IMHO been dead. I remembering commented about this on the Sartorialist a few weeks ago. The thing is, I actually like the jackets in general but know that entirely too many people have it. Really, SoHo shops are stacked with 80s era Michael Jackson inspired numbers.

posted by guest

Apr 14, 2009 4:18PM

I'm happy I don't like this trend. One less thing I have to obsess about. I do appreciate it as an art form.