These days, if asked to describe the Balmain woman, you’d likely think of Kim Kardashian or Kendall Jenner—perhaps even GiGi Hadid. There’s no doubt about it: the Parisian fashion house has embedded itself firmly in the world of the instafamous.
This makes Balmain’s 2016 Spring campaign all the more surprising. It turns away from the double-tap and the rising star, choosing instead to look at tradition and icons. It seems Creative Director Olivier Rousting wanted to ring in the new year with a reminder: Balmain was here before Instagram, and it will remain after.
To help him make a statement so bold, Rousteing enlisted Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and Claudia Schiffer, while Steven Klien was behind the Lens. As he is wont to do, Olivier appears in a number of the behind-the-scenes images. The spread left us lusting after the tiered, ruffled trousers Claudia wears, and the general agelessness of the trio as a whole.
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It’s good to see Naomi and Claudia team up successfully. Their iconic 1998 venture into restauranteering started with New York’s Fashion Cafe and swiftly ended in the venue’s bankruptcy. This Balmain campaign, while considerably less sensational, proves the two make a killer team after all.
Credits
Photographs courtesy Balmain