So I'm kind of obsessed with Balmain Creative Director, Olivier Rousteing. He's young, fabulous and one of the few black people calling the shots in a major fashion house. On top of everything else, he's brilliant. He navigates both worlds of fashion and social presence effortlessly. Balmain collections are known for they opulence, grandeur, and is one of the few collections where the items have a lot going on, but still remains so chic at the same time. This is not an easy task. When I heard Balmain for H&M was in the works, I KNEW it was going to be everything.
So with such an opulent clothing line there is always the concern of translation from expensive to affordable. I do see that the clothing line is priced a little higher than most H&M collaborations and my guess is that with the intricate Balmain design aesthetic and the feeling that Olivier wouldn't just let H&M water down the Balmain grandeur into nothing, you have this pricey H&M collaboration. Now personally, I want so many things from this line. I literally have scrolled through the line drooling, but my guess is (and I'm about 98% sure) there won't be any plus sizes. Not like I didn't know, but it doesn't hurt any less. The Balmain x H&M collaboration will be available Nov. 5th and I guess I'll be on Instagram watching all the skinny girls get their life.
On a final note, as I finish this off with a heavy heart. I think to myself what messages do size exclusive collaborations like this send to young girls and women. I have a friend who I was discussing this collaboration say, 'Do I really need food?" when we were discussing these clothes. She is a grown women who is confident in herself, but she had a moment where she thought she would fit into these clothes than eat. It made me think back to that line in The Devil Wear Prada, "well I'm on this new diet, I don't eat anything and when I feel faint, I eat a cube of cheese." This sounds absurd, but how many of us have had clothing that we purchased with the intention of dieting down until we could fit into the clothing. The last item I purchased like that was a little over 5 years ago (I'm so proud of myself for being able to say that). Anyways, that thought was only for a second and we burst into laughter about such a ridiculous statement, but if a grown woman can have this thought what does the 20 year old plus size woman think or a 16 year old girl who may not be as self assured or confident. Just some honest thoughts as I look at this beautiful collaboration that I won't be able to wear. You can see the full line here. You can see the full line here. The pieces that I would buy if the line came in plus are below:
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