Balmain Fall Winter 2024-25 Men “What’s with the dentals?” Story by Eleonora de Gray, Editor-in-Chief of RUNWAY MAGAZINE. Photo Courtesy: Balmain.

In the unpredictable world of fashion, designers often tread the fine line between inspiration and imitation.

Oliver Rousteing, the creative mind behind Balmain, embarked on a daring journey, picking up fragments from various designers along the way. The runway spectacle unveils a mashup and mismatch of styles, featuring echoes of Moschino by Jeremy Scott, Schiaparelli by Daniel Roseberry, and Louis Vuitton by Colm Dillane (KidSuper). It’s a veritable fashion potluck, but one can’t help but wonder – did Rousteing lose his GPS in the world of couture?

Oh yes, and the hit of the season gold and diamond dental braces – result of successful peekaboo at Louis Vuitton Fall Winter 2024-25 by Pharrell Williams several months in advance (or what we call “industrial espionage”). 

Hey Oliver, why don’t you choose one designer and stick to him? The mishmash of styles is leaving audiences dizzy, desperately searching for a cohesive theme amid the kaleidoscope of influences. And why do you have to pick up this sartorial atrocity – golden dental braces? It’s so distasteful and audacious. Dreaming of getting this LV gangsta? Well… don’t dream about – you have to be born in Los Angeles, rap, and skate… Sorry Oliver, dreams of donning these dental blings might need a change in your birth certificate.

Oliver Rousteing seems to have overlooked the fact that big golden jewelry, whether golden teeth, ears, or eyes, is synonymous with Schiaparelli’s identity from the early 20th century. Moschino’s vibrant and profile-centric creations from the 1980s, later rejuvenated by Jeremy Scott in the 2020s, are Moschino identity. But what is Balmain’s today?

In the quest for a unique identity, Balmain appears to have missed the mark. The Fall Winter 2024-25 Men’s collection is an avant-garde hodgepodge that leaves us with a single question: when in doubt, why not try to imagine and create something unique, and avoid the dental drama altogether?  Oliver, it’s time to find your own voice – but please, leave the gold dental braces where they belong in someone else’s mouth.

See All Looks Balmain Fall Winter 2024-2025