BALMAIN

Pierre Balmain was revered for his elegant aesthetic toward design. “Dressmaking is the architecture of movement,” Balmain once said. His designs were known for opulence such as embroidered gowns and ensembles as well as their focus on cut and style. Designer Christophe Decarnin, who came on board in 2005 to revive the starry yet bankrupt brand, infused the label with so much energy and brilliance that Balmain became one of the hottest names around. Today, house designer Olivier Rousteing, one of Decarnin’s key deputies, carries on the legacy of Balmain’s ultrahip, daring, and chic looks such as thigh-grazing cocktail dresses and bedazzled blouses. Celebrity beauties love his eye-catching looks Zoe Saldana, Kristen Stewart, and Gwyneth Paltrow, to name a few. And a secondary line, Pierre Balmain, was launched in 2011.