BALMAIN
I introduced a new ready-to-wear line
— one that would sit more comfortably
in a traditional pret-a-porter price
range — without compromising the
evolved Balmain DNA. I wrote the
plan, built the team, established the
atelier and designed the collections.

CREATIVE DIRECTION / TEAM EXPANSION / ATELIER BUILD / NEW LINE DNA / SEASONAL RESEARCH / DESIGN DEVELOPMENT 2D & 3D / SUPPLY CHAINS / FABRICATION / PRINT DEVELOPMENT / KNIT DEVELOPMENT / SPEC PACKS / TOILING / FITTINGS / PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT / STYLING / SHOWROOM MERCHANDISING / ART DIRECTION / EDITING / FINAL PRESENTATIONS

Thanks to the much celebrated mainline director Christophe Decarnin, Balmain was going through a transformation when I was hired in 2009. The house was adored by editors and stylists worldwide and had become known for its iconic sculpted shoulders, exquisite tailoring, elaborate embroidery and deconstructed denim.

I was encouraged to push boundaries of creativity at every opportunity. I had a vision of a more subtle voice to compliment the mainline; just as sensual, tailored and adorned, but with a little more introspection. When generating design ideas, I focused heavily on collage techniques to connect the aesthetics and concepts from my research to the body.

The results were intricate acetate line ups. These became a starting point to inspire a deeper design investigation and to inspire the design team. We would interpret the line up through 2D and 3D experiments, such as projecting textiles onto bodies, exploring drape, manipulating textiles or sculpting new details. A favourite development was our engineered shoulder pads that nodded to the mainline’s famous sculpted effect whilst subverting the direction of the form to demonstrate an alternative sense of empowerment.

“Aimee’s mind thinks like no other. She has a signature the industry has never seen before”

Monsieur Hevlain
President, in an address to the board of directors
BALMAIN 2010