BALMAIN
Pierre Balmain was born in St Jean de Maurienne in Savoy in 1914. After studying architecture at the Ecole des Beaux Arts and working for fashion designer Edward Molyneux and Lucien Lelong, he founded his own fashion house in 1945. Balmain, Christion Dior and Cristobal Balenciaga were the design giants responsible for reenergizing lavish couture dressing after World War II. Balmain's elegant, super-feminine looks were favorites among European royalty and Hollywood fashionistas like Marlene Dietrich, Katharine Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot and Sophia Loren. His talent as a designer lay in his ability to make simple, tailored suits as well as grand evening gowns, all with the same aesthetic of slender and elegant lines. Since Christophe Decarnin was appointed creative director in February 2006, the label that was once known for ultra-elegant evening attire with a draping and pleating focus, transitioned toward tough-chic, thigh-grazing, body-skimming looks to embrace the quintessential trendsetting French party-girl.