KCD were one of the first big PR companies to embrace all things digital so when the company announced last season that they were launching Digital Fashion Shows, a platform to provide online-only shows to press and buyers, nobody was surprised. To kick start the project they worked with See by Chloé and Prabal Gurung on his inaugural ICB collection and with fashion week just around the corner, they've just confirmed that the line-up is expanding.
In addition to working with those brands, they will also showcase the S/S13 collection from Pierre Balmain, the French fashion houses' sister line, and it's not hard to understand why the line-up is growing. The initiative offers a lot more than a simple livestream. The videos can be viewed on just about every mobile device and each look comes with a front, back and detail view along with show information and the ability to make notes on each look.
The much anticipated Pierre Balmain diffusion line is set to be unveiled this Sunday in Paris, but just to get excited about the big reveal the brand have released the first of a series of three videos showing off the collection.
The video celebrates all things rock 'n' roll as directors, Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, follow Abbey Lee Kershaw and her band, Our Mountain, let loose on the streets of New York donning the collection.
Back in May we told you that Balmain are currently working on a diffusion line and the first images from Pierre Balmain are finally here. Rather than having the brand's new designer Olivier Rousteing overseeing the new line, the house has reportedly brought on an 'independent design team' to work on the project.
The collection was long coming. As much as we loved their statement accentuated shouldered jackets, I can confidently say that my bank balance has never been too fond of them so the diffusion line is definitely a step in the right direction. Although things are picking up, designers and big houses alike are still feeling the pinch of the current economic situation making the trend for diffusion lines an ever growing necessity. So, let's talk prices. The collection, which will launch for SS12, ranges from $174 for tees to $944 for suits.
We all fell in love with those pronounced jackets and distressed denim jeans at Balmain but unfortunately that's the most that many people did - simply admire them from afar. With t-shirts coming in at a whopping $1,625 and those statement jackets costing $10,000, the collections were only reserved for the elite customer.
Balmain's high prices have not come without great criticism over the years. Back in April Robin Givhan most notably slammed the brand arguing that: "The cost of his fully bedazzled mini-dresses could reach well into tens of thousands of dollars, easily making a couture client hyperventilate. His tailored jackets, though beautifully cut, were also a king's ransom at $10,000." She continued: "In fairness, some of the prices could be explained by the skill put into the cutting and the elaborate beadwork - one Prince-inspired collection, for example, featured frock coats lacquered in gold sequins. But Decarnin's tattered jeans and t-shirts were equally as expensive - think $1,000 for an artfully torn tank top...There is no justification for that sort of pricing other than it exploited one of the worst marketing tactics in the fashion industry."
But it looks like the brand has taken the fierce criticism on board as they have announced that they are launching a secondary 'affordable' line called Pierre Balmain. If the news excites you as much as us, you will be even more happy to know that the sources allege the line will be made available as soon as September.
