Paris Fashion Week AW 2014: Balmain

After Milan always comes Paris and the last Fashion Week of the season. The first show to catch my eye here was Olivier Rousteing's collection for Balmain. Focused on a mix of ethnicity, hip-hop pop and street style, the collection was in tune with the designer's heritage and identity as a young, black, French designer. His spontaneous speech on stage describing the collection was very emotional "I'm screaming it loud. It's all about ethnicity and freedom. I am 28 years old. I'm proud of having Rihanna as my friend. I'm proud of having all those girls of different cultures modelling for me. Sometimes, it's not necessary to go to Miami or Vegas, or the fifties or sixties for inspiration - you can just look around you. I'm showing that this is me. I'm part of my generation."

Very much inspired from what's happening on the streets, the sound track for the show was perfectly in tune with his vision, a mix of nineties and current music. The 50 Cent remix by Timbaland and Justin Timberlake was doubled by the first model taking the catwalk in a khaki oversize leather jacket paired with satin trousers and gold hoop earrings. His looks are seem very tough and modern, perfect to bring out the powerful woman in you. Among my favorite looks were the green pleated dress in the opening photo, the green skirt paired with  a black leather blouse, the fur mini-skirt paired with a black embroidered top, the red leather dress, the teal dress paired with a red belt and cuffs, the pleated khaki leather skirt paired with a black top, the zebra-printed skirt paired with a white sweater, the striped black and white dress and sweater, the electric blue and yellow dress and pantsuit, the animal print skirt paired with a fur top and of course the yellow dress towards the end of the show.

What did you think of this first Paris show? What designers are you most looking forward to seeing during the next week?

Photos: Monica Feudi / Feudiguaineri.com