Cher walks for Balmain because her “Strong Enough” style would have survived even the apocalypse

It was not a simple fashion show, but three contemporary collections that Olivier Rousteing presented for Balmain. Both men’s and women’s prêt-à-porter (98 silhouettes) and haute couture (15 additional steps) paraded on the catwalk set up by the French maison at the Jean Boulin stadium in Paris on September 28, 2022. We could also talk about 115 looks , if you count that of the designer himself who came to greet him at the end of the show and of Cher who accompanied him, on the notes of his hit “Strong enough”, a hymn to love, clean and resilient.

Cher has come to close Olivier Rousteing’s decadent and post-apocalyptic Balmain parade

In fact, the now 76-year-old singer created a surprise by appearing for this grand finale. She is the ambassador of the maison’s new bag, she wore a futuristic body, like the rest of the post-apocalyptic collection, intended as a reflection on global warming.

The choice of materials testifies to this, including many papers, but also banana and wicker for sustainability reasons. Many trompe-l’oeil prints to feign nudity also punctuated the show, recalling Olivier Rousteing’s recent immersion in Jean Paul Gaultier’s home. Others, on the other hand, paid homage to the great Renaissance paintings. Something to remember that some things may seem eternal, be it a painting masterpiece, a pop anthem like “Strong Enough”. Or a Balmain dress?

All this was presented to an audience of 1,000 guests and another 6,000 people who bought the ticket (part of the proceeds is donated to an association) to participate in this “Balmain Festival” (the third of its kind), combining fashion and concerts. It is therefore a source of income and additional visibility for the house that has just announced the (re) launch of a beauty line.

Will Cher be the anti-aging face of the new Balmain Beauty cosmetics?

A perfume line already bore his name (license managed by Interparfums from 2011 to 2017), as well as a hair line (Balmain Hair Couture). But here it isIt is the new perfumes and cosmetics that are announced, now managed with the Estée Lauder group. And this, with a strong involvement of Olivier Rousteing if we are to believe the first teasers. We recall that the house founded in 1945 by Pierre Balmain has belonged to a Mayhoola investment fund in Qatar since 2016.

With Olivier Rousteing as artistic director for eleven years now, the Balmain brand business appears to be thriving. If the appeal to celebrities sometimes makes you forget about (overpriced) fashion, this should sell beauty products like hotcakes. From now to commercialization in 2024, the bet is whether the stainless Cher will soon appear as the face of a Balmain anti-aging line.

Front page photo credit: Instagram screenshot.