During the process of designing the flower-focusd Balmain Spring 2024 Collection, Olivier Rousteing recalls a brilliantly sarcastinc line from his and the team’s favorite film, “The Devil’s Wears Prada,” the moment of Miranda Priestly’s unforgettable dismissal of a florals-for-spring theme as “groundbreaking.” Despite this the Balmian team continued to wholeheartedly embraced the joy, femininity and exuberance of the rose, the fragrant bloom that always held such a special place in the founder’s many garden and couture designs. By the time the models were ready to walk down the runway, fragrant and colorful perennial were inserted into the better part of our collection, playing with multiple forms—from single-bud embellishments to prints bursting with gardens of cabbage roses. In addition, the Balmain atelier craftsmen, as well as talented outside artisans, created striking three-dimensional roses from the widest-possible variety of materials.

“The perfect summation of our Balmain roseraie might be the most famous quote from Pierre Balmain’s most famous friend, Gertrude Stein: “a rose is a rose is a rose is a rose.”

Olivier Rousteing

While Balmain Spring 2024 is anything but superficial, this colorful collection for this season is definitely an unabashed celebration of the power of love, beauty and joy — especially now in this world we all could definitely use a whole lot more joy, beauty and love in our lives.

For shooting these designs, Balmain partnered with: Rafael Pavarotti, who had just overseen a series of stunning images for the Balmain Fall 2023 campaign. Then, deciding on the spirit, focus, attitude and star of the spring campaign, it had to be Rafael’s compatriot, Gisele Bündchen. Her breathtaking beauty is somehow transformed into something even more powerful when combined with that genuine happiness and confidence that she has been continually projecting for over twenty years, both on the runway and on those countless covers and editorials. And, just to clinch the deal, the fact that Gisele had a role in The Devil Wears Prada was the perfect final touch needed to bring Balmain’s whole florals-for-spring references full circle.

In one shot, Giselle is holding a special Balmain design for this season: the new Jolie Madame. Jolie Madame refers to the house’s legendary mid-century silhouette; it reflects both the audaciousness of Monsieur Balmain’s fresh and feminine postwar collections and the drive for incorporating surprising innovations that’s helping to set apart today’s Balmain.

“Muito obrigado to the powerful Brazilian duo of Gisele and Rafael. You two formed the ideal team, giving our latest campaign exactly the type of colorful ebullience that we needed. Together, you’ve perfectly captured the effervescent essence of our Balmain Spring rose garden.”

Olivier Rousteing

“I’ve always been impressed with Olivier’s unique gift for creating exquisite collections and working with him on the Balmain Spring-Summer 2024 campaign was a special experience for me. Olivier and I looked to Pierre Balmain’s gardens as one of our chief sources of inspiration, as they embody the concepts of heritage, femininity and elegance that we wanted to communicate through these images.”

Rafael Pavarotti

CAMPAIGN CREDITS
creative director: Olivier Rousteing
photography: Rafael Pavarotti
talent: Gisele Bündchen
casting director: Anita Bitton
stylist: Charlotte Stockdale and Katie Lyall
hair: Sam McKnight
make-up: Peter Philips