What do you get when you combine Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Adriana Lima, Joan Smalls, Crista Cober and Isabeli Fontana? A Nintendo and hamburger party, of course! Kidding, but that’s the alternate world Balmain Creative Director Olivier Rousteing has created for the spring/summer 2015 womenswear campaign. Rousteing has formed his very own supermodel Balmain Army for the exclusive look at the collection, and after seeing what Balmain has in store for us, we are more than willing to enlist.
“Balmain is all about diversity” Rousteing explains, and his decision to use the striking, yet all aesthetically different looks of each of his chosen models further emphasizes this. Rousteing obviously understands the female body, and all the models are in strong, powerful positions, clearly in control. One shot in particular depicts the models getting into a physical cat fight; limbs flying, hair being pulled and claws outstretched (it’s essentially what we’ve all imagined backstage at Fashion Week to be like). If Rousteing wanted to blur the lines between fashion reality and fashion fantasy, he is certainly testing that limit.
Shot by Mario Sorrenti and art directed by Pascal Dangin, the ‘uniforms’ of the models are easy to recognize. Each shot has a definitive theme, from the bright, striped Balmain burger eating scene, to the monochromatic theme of another shot, and the edgy, black lattice looks of the gaming image. Synchronicity, unity and a strong sense of enpowerment are what Rousteing is telling us goes into creating the ultimate Balmain woman, and with the strong sense of design and styling helping to convey that, it is a powerful message.
The inspiration Dangin drew upon was a desire to depict the models “in surreal interpretations of everyday environments” and to inject a sense of “pop-relevance”. From gorging burgers in a cafeteria-like setting, to a human car crash of models strew over each other and a late night junk food and video game sesh; these are juxtaposed with the high fashion, beautifully intimidating women and expert styling. The images capture the hyper-reality and often unattainable perfection of the fashion world, one we can only imagine being a part of.
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Balmain has always been edgy and unafraid to take fashion risks, and the latest campaign is no exception. The clothes themselves look structured, sexy, yet still feminine, and his army of supermodels could definitely rival the Victoria’s Secret Angels for the most stunning collective group of women in fashion. Rousteing has made a strong fashion statement with these images, and all we can do is eagerly await February 2015 for the official release of the campaign. Oh, and practice looking glamorous while eating a burger as well of course.
Images via fashionweeklydaily.com, fashiongonerogue.com
