Haute Couture Week was different this year, to the surprise of no one. Houses had to reformulate their presentations, opting for film, releasing sketches, and/or in in-studio photography in lieu of the traditional runway show. Olivier Rousteing, artistic director at Balmain, went with a different route: down the Seine.
For Balmain’s presentation, Rousteing did not do away with the performative quality of the runway show we’ve come to expect. Rather – and rather shockingly, in today’s environment – he embraced it. Pulling pieces out of the Balmain couture archives, Rousteing outfitted a crew of models for a cruise down the river on a mirrored barge.
The party boat drifted through Paris in a loop starting at the Eiffel Tower, docking midway for a performance on land featuring Yseult, a French singer, and 50 dancers choreographed by Beyonce’s choreographer. The spectacle was set to be streamed live via TikTok, the first digital/fashion partnership of its kind and a reminder of Rousteing’s penchant for innovation. While the streaming plan reportedly fell through due to technical difficulties (how comforting to know that I’m not the only goof online), there was still great pomp amassing around the hashtag #BalmainSurSeine.
Balmain Couture Fall 2020: Democratizing Fashion
Rousteing has been vocal about his ideas for democratizing fashion for a while now (his contribution to Vogue’s Global Discussions being a good example). To be clear, he isn’t saying that he’s hosting a Balmain bargain-bin sale (everything you can fit in your cart for $100!). Isn’t that an image?
The democratization he’s talking about relates to the public consumption of fashion as an art form. Public art is a point of national pride for the French, and haute couture being revered as a quintessential French art, there is nothing more patriotic than opening shows to the public. Except, perhaps, having the Seine be your runway as you wind around the Iron Lady.
Now, as an American – and more precisely, as a San Franciscan – there is a piece of me that looks at a group of models on a mirrored yacht wearing several hundred thousand dollars of couture, untouchable as they glide through the city with music and dancing as the world around them collapses under the economic and social burdens of a pandemic and thinks: Marie Antoinette must be pissed that she didn’t get the invite.
It’s easy to see Rousteing’s presentation as a ghastly exhibition of wealth. There’s no denying the expense, or the fact that the overwhelming majority of the planet could never own one of his creations, pandemic aside. There’s also no denying that few people on the scene were wearing masks or social distancing – and although France has loosened its lockdown in the past month, I have so many questions about hygiene and this presentation.
As Art
But then I come around to Rousteing’s inspiration: the democratization of fashion as an art form. There are a million things I love about him, but when I first heard his wishes to open fashion up to the public, I nearly swooned.
Past the questions of TikTok as an appropriate platform (spies?) or the wisdom of hiring dancers to sweat and breathe on each other during a pandemic, Rousteing’s idea is more genius even than it first appears.
You see, the Big Problems that fashion faces, at least from my perspective, are ones of inclusivity and sustainability. It leaves the public on unread, prioritizing exclusivity over social relevance, and in the same moment fires up the smokestacks in the sweatshops.
Paradigm Shift
But once we start to entertain the possibility that we can consume fashion differently, as art, solutions to these problems become more feasible. A healthy art community demands a diversity of perspectives. Value doesn’t come from ownership, but rather from discussion, emotional connection, and social relevancy. It demands quality over quantity. People buy art carefully, as an investment, and if it passes through many hands, its value isn’t diminished. Process is key: how we make art matters.
When we stop focusing on fashion as a status symbol (although I concede that it will always be, to an extent, as is everything in this world) and more as an art form, its role in our world changes. We, the public, see couture as what it’s meant to be: a smorgasbord of textile sculpture, political commentary, technology, innovation, and beauty that come together to make high fashion. Ready-to-wear collections don’t have to be so bloated, or as numerous. What we wear on a daily basis holds more meaning, regardless of cost or prestige, and “new” becomes less important. The supply chain feels less strain, and there is less impact on our environment and on the people who make our clothes.
I know this sounds like a pipe dream, and as silly as it sounds, I really do believe it. While I don’t know Rousteing’s intent with this collection, I like where he’s going – and hope others follow suit.
love,
Stig
PS. Want to see the whole collection of vintage Balmain? You can find it here.
Information via Vogue and Balmain, photos via Vogue
