Balmain puts beauty on the catwalk at Paris Fashion Week ahead of Balmain Beauty launch

Balmain put the spotlight on beauty and fragrance for its SS25 ready-to-wear collection, shown at Paris Fashion Week today, with “power face” dresses. a make-up inspired colour palette and accessories inspired by fragrance bottles.

The Parisian house has signed a licensing deal with Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) and the show also marked the official launch of its new fragrance range and was a precursor to its new beauty range, which will launch this autumn.

Embossed faces were integrated into dress structures while accessories resembled make-up palettes (Vianney Le Caer/AP)

Creative director Olivier Rousteing said he believed that the blending of beauty and fashion on the catwalk would be a strong direction for the house moving forward and ELC executive chairman, William P. Lauder, sat in the audience, to witness the shift.

The palette featured foundation shades and lipstick reds (Vianney Le Caer/AP)

Rousteing stuck with his “don’t-mess-with-me” strong shoulder silhouette that has defined his 13-year career at Balmain but nods to the new beauty era were in evidence everywhere.

Accessories, like the footwear and hardware, took inspiration from Balmain’s newly launched Les Éternels fragrance bottles, which feature a glossy, ridged texture and models carried perfume bottles down the runway.

Perfume bottles were carried as clutches (Vianney Le Caer/AP)

Dresses and tops resembled wearable make-up palettes – with spritzes of beads and rich fabrics mimicking rouges and blush.

Rousteing has always been committed to representing multi-generational beauty in his shows and we can expect to see the same when the beauty range launches. Paulina Porizkova, 59, graced the catwalk wearing a foundation-coloured silk dress and was just one of an age-diverse line-up of models.

Paulina Porizkova wore a blush silk twist dress (Vianney Le Caer/AP)

After the show Rousteing simply said: “This show is me.” Indeed, the collection wasn’t just a reflection of Balmain’s evolution – it was a declaration of where the brand is headed.

ELC secured the beauty license for Balmain in September 2022 with the first beauty collection promised this autumn. In January 2023 Hans Dorsinville was appointed the first Creative Director for Balmain Beauty. He had previously been with advertising agency Gotham and his career also includes tenures with Donna Karan, Laird+Partners and Select World.