While you were sleeping or totally ignoring the red carpets for last night’s Billboard Music Awards, the fashion industry received some really exciting news – H&M has announced that the Parisian house Balmain (designed by the inimitable Olivier Rousteing) will be the 11th high fashion collaboration for the mega retail chain, with the H&M x Balmain collection set to hit stores in November.
Starting with Karl Lagerfeld ten years ago, H&M’s high fashion designer collaborations have proven wildly popular, with collections usually selling out in a couple of hours. Some of the early capsule collections did not include menswear, a strategy that seems to have changed since the recent success of Alexander Wang x H&M. Considering Balmain is one of Kanye’s favorite brands, One can only assume that fashionheads will be clamoring come November.
If you’ve seen any of the Balmain designs created by Rousteing, you know that each piece typically includes a lot of intricate detailing that’s nothing if not luxurious. And if you think that aesthetic will be lost when the retail price drops down to the “affordable” range, guess again. The collection, which will include men’s and women’s clothing, shoes and accessories,promises to not lose any of its craftsmanship.
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The “Balmain Army” already includes recruits like Justin Beiber, Usher, Scott Disick, and the aforementioned Kanye West. With a new store recently opened in London and a New York flagship store opening later this year, around the same time as the H&M launch, its the perfect time for Rousteing to introduce the Balmain style to the masses.
Pieces from Balmain’s men’s retail collection can run upwards of $5,000 for a single item bearing the Balmain name – not exactly a brand for the proletariat. But now, with Rousteing as H&M’s newest guest designer, you too can afford to “Join the Nation”.
