For Fall/Winter 2023-24, Balmain presented an elegant collection in which Olivier Rousteing reiterates his taste for sublime experimentation. For Olivier Rousteing, his youth (36 years, 12 of which he has spent at Balmain) has always been a characteristic that gives him an advantage over other designers: an incredible ability to evolve, to not stagnate and to allow himself to experiment with what he and his public want. For the Fall/Winter 2023-24 season, this transformative spirit continues to permeate what Balmain is capable of. With a sober presentation, Rousteing unveiled a collection marked by what could be categorized as futuristic (or even out-of-this-world) elegance. On the catwalk, the models walked dressed in designs that could well have been created in a utopian society beyond our stars. There is a certain charm à la Cardin in what we saw today in Paris.

To say there’s a noise around Paco Rabanne is just one of those figures of speech, but on the runway for fall we all literally heard it coming. The swishing, clinking, and clattering of metallic chainmail, plastic chandelier drops, and multi-layers of reflective feathers was partly from the long, spectacularly photogenic evening dresses Julien Dossena sent out—and partly from the mini-dresses designed by Paco Rabanne himself. In that moment—the finale tribute to the late designer—you suddenly realized just what an extra-outrageous impact it must have had when Francoise Hardy, Amanda Lear, and all of his models were shaking up staid old haute couture in those super-modern dresses in late 1960s Paris. Not just seen, but very much heard.