Balmain Resort 2025 Halloween “Be like Jean Paul Gaultier or Schiaparelli by Daniel Roseberry”. Story by Eleonora de Gray, Editor-in-Chief of RUNWAY MAGAZINE. Photo Courtesy: Balmain / Jean Paul Gaultier / Schiaparelli.
Ah, Olivier Rousteing—Balmain’s prodigy of “originality,” whose career seems to be built on one clear guiding principle: if it worked for Jean Paul Gaultier, it’ll work for me. Resort 2025? A Halloween collection?
You’d be forgiven for thinking you’re looking at Gaultier’s greatest hits because, well, you are. But let’s not be too harsh; after all, Rousteing had full access to the archives back in 2022, so why waste all that perfectly good design history by making something new?
Remember the early 2000s, when Gaultier graced us with the overlapped jackets, shirt and tuxedos? Olivier does. So much so that he plucked that 2003 design straight from the Jean Paul Gaultier’s past and threw it into his latest “collection” with Balmain label in it. Apparently, time is a flat circle in the world of Rousteing, where nothing truly changes, except maybe the Balmain label stitched on the inside instead of Jean Paul Gaultier.
Of course, we also see Rousteing’s obsession with Daniel Roseberry’s Schiaparelli—because it wouldn’t be a Balmain collection without a few more borrowed details. In this case, it’s all about the jewelry. Give the man credit where it’s due: when it comes to metalwork, he’s like a magpie, always attracted to shiny things. This time, it’s brass-toned brooches gleaming on the chest of snow-white boucle jackets. It’s metal madness: oversized belts, tape measures re-imagined as spiraling earrings, and jewelry that looks like it came straight from a blacksmith’s forge. Halloween, indeed.
In a stroke of what can only be described as genius-level irony, Olivier decided to pen his own love letter to Balmain—in metal, naturally. Because what says romance more than brass? “Amour,” the collection screams, etched into a trompe l’oeil jacket and scripted across a tailored coat. This isn’t just a letter; it’s a dissertation on how deeply he’s embedded in Balmain’s DNA Jean Paul Gaultier and Schiaparelli’s designs. The irony, of course, being that Rousteing’s “love” for Balmain looks suspiciously like his love for anyone else’s archives.
But let’s give credit where credit is due. He’s mastered the art of homage. It’s not every designer who can pull off a full-scale duplication. The overlapped Jean Paul Gaultier’s tuxedo from 2003? Here it is, revamped, slightly tweaked, but still screaming Gaultier. Body morph dresses? Why reinvent the wheel when Gaultier already perfected it two decades ago? Olivier knows the answer: don’t.
Then there’s the pièce de résistance: menswear. Cropped biker jackets and deep-V tunics, all slathered in Rousteing’s flair, which by now we all recognize as Gaultier’s with a side of Schiaparelli sparkle. But don’t worry, Rousteing has made sure we remember who’s really in charge here—he’s lovingly stitched his initials into every metallic surface possible. After all, what better way to remind us that Balmain is Rousteing than by shouting it in brass?
And let’s not forget the grand message he’s trying to convey here. “This is Balmain,” Rousteing says, chest puffed out with pride. Yes, Olivier, we know. It’s been Balmain for the past 15 years, 13 of which you’ve been at the helm. The problem is, it’s also been Gaultier, Chanel, Mugler, Galliano, Roseberry, and pretty much anyone else you’ve decided to take a little “something” from, to remember them by. But don’t worry—we’re not keeping track. Much.
In any case, if you’re in the market for some high-fashion Halloween looks that feel just a little too familiar, Balmain Resort 2025 has you covered. And if you’re a fan of the classics—by which I mean anyone else’s classics—this collection is a goldmine. How else you can find pieces of Gaultier from 2003? At this point, we should probably stop waiting for Rousteing to finally graduate from the school of borrowing and start designing on his own. But hey, why start now?
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