RUNWAY: Balmain FW12

Balmain's new Creative Director Olivier Rousteing, only his second collection as director, has successfully evolved Balmain's aesthetic. Still present is Balmain's now infamous and maybe superfluous use of black leather piled atop more leather but for FW12, the look softened a bit, with pieces like a chic quilted navy puffer with fur hood accents. In a season where most designers are heavily influenced by the military, it seems that played in Balmain's aesthetics quite well, since their perennial inspiration has been chic, modern and sexy military-wear.