"He is more Balmain than me."-Balmain

Christophe Decarnin

Erik Mortensen took over Balmain when Pierre Balmain died. He was quoted for saying, "He is more Balmain than me." Which shows the trust the designer had in his successor. However, his short reign in the House of Balmain only lasted until 1990, where future megadesigner Oscar de la Renta took over. Oscar designed couture for Balmain in Paris for ten years, until a back surgey ended his work one season early. Balmain has not reached its full couture potential since they parted way with Oscar de la Renta. Owner Alain Hivelin has full trust in their newest designer Christophe Decarnin. Decarnin has plans to take Balmain into the future with the Amazonian woman designs being in his back corner.

works cited: http://www.fashionwindows.com/beauty/balmain/oscar_dela_renta.asp

History Redefined: Pierre Balmain

Balmain was created by Pierre Balmain an architech by trade and a designer by nature. Born in 1914 in a small village in France. His family owned a drapery business and his mother worked for her sisters in a small boutique so one could say Pierre Balmain was born into the fashion industry. He started designing dresses at an early age and showed them to an semi-established designer Robert Piquet. This led Pierre to working with Edward Molymeux another fashion designer, leading him to created what later would be picked up by Christian Dior as the "new look." Balmain may have done all the work with no credit, but his time was coming. After serving a brief stint in the military he came back to open his own fashion house designing dresses for women. An early trendsetter Balmain stayed true to women's fashion taking them beyond couture and into the streets of Paris, and into movies in America. Karl Lagerfield studied under Balmain from 1955-1958, and we can see Balmain's early inspiration in Lagerfield's designs.

works sited: http://www.fragrancex.com/products/_bid_Pierre--Balmain-am-cid_perfume-am-lid_P__brand_history.html