The hotly anticipated Balmain X H&M collection launched last night on Wall St in New York and we were lucky enough to be there, rubbing shoulders with the who’s who of celebville, all of whom turned out to get their mitts on the latest high street collaboration. We spotted Dougie Pointer with his rather famous girlfriend Ellie Goulding, Diane Kruger (minus her beau Joshua Jackson who was a no show), Alexa Chung, Kylie Jenner (donning a slick new ‘do), not to mention Karlie Kloss and Lewis Hamilton, and of course the catwalk queens Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Jourdan Dunne.
Kylie Jenner attends the BALMAIN X H&M Collection Launch at 23 Wall Street on October 20, 2015 in New York City.
The party kicked off with cocktails and bites before guests took their seats for a full show – we’re talking twerking dancers, a catwalk of the world’s best and most diverse models showcasing the seriously cool collection and all before the big finale: the Backstreet Boys. We kid you not. The boys played ?Backstreet’s Back? and ?I Want It That Way?, while Kendall and Gigi stood front row singing along, trying to contain their excitement. After all of that mayhem, it was on to the downstairs pop-up shop, where us lucky VIPs got to buy the collection before anyone else. And when we got peckish? Along came the very chic H&M X Balmain takeout boxes of burgers and fries plus desserts of Oreos all served up to the sounds of a 90s mega-hits DJ set. Serious contender for party of the year and we haven’t even mentioned the clothes yet. Every single piece of the collection is a glamazon’s dream, from the simple BALMAIN logo tees to the full on beaded power-shoulder blazers and sky-high platform heels. We want it all. We’re counting down the days until November 5th when it exclusively hits the College Green store in Dublin (doors open at 9am but we’re hearing rumours of camping over night!). Watch. This. Space.
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 20: Models Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, and Jourdan Dunn pose on the runway with other models at the BALMAIN X H&M Collection Launch at 23 Wall Street on October 20, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images for H&M)
In this month’s issue of IMAGE Magazine, we sat down with the creative director behind Balmain, Olivier Rousteing (in Paris, no less) and here’s just a taster of what he had to say. To read the full interview, we’re on shelves now!
“The Balmain woman is powerful. When you wear Balmain you feel strong. It’s like armour. She is a glamorous warrior.”
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 20: Model Jourdan Dunn prepares backstage at the BALMAIN X H&M Collection Launch at 23 Wall Street on October 20, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for H&M)
“People ask me, why a high street collection? I tell them that everyone deserves to own a piece of fashion history. I trained with Roberto Cavalli and was with him when he collaborated with H&M, so I knew I wanted to do it myself one day. Ten years ago, I was the boy waiting in line for the collaboration. Now, I’m designing it. I know that feeling of waiting patiently to get a piece of a brand you can’t afford. Creating this collection reminded me of that feeling.”
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 20: Models Gigi Hadid (L) and Kendall Jenner pose backstage at the BALMAIN X H&M Collection Launch at 23 Wall Street on October 20, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for H&M)
