Cruising With Balmain in Paris
The luxury fashion house will host a fashion and music spectacle on July 5 aboard a barge on the Seine River.
On the eve of the first digital fashion weeks in Paris for couture and men’s wear, Olivier Rousteing and Balmain are swooping in with a live, floating fashion and music spectacle.
A barge is to cruise down the Seine River on Sunday evening, giving anyone gathered on the banks or pedestrian bridges a view of vintage couture and other fashions, a mini concert by French singer Yseult, and a surprise dance performance. Dubbed Balmain Sur Seine, it’s Rousteing’s way of celebrating the end of lockdown in Paris, reaffirming its stature as the capital of fashion, and making luxury more democratic.
“Balmain is all about optimism, and after this period I wanted to bring back this optimism that this brand has been known for,” Rousteing said in an interview.
Like many others freed from confinement, Rousteing has been rediscovering the beauty of Paris from the riverside, where people gather to watch the sunset and share a drink or a picnic. He decided this is a perfect and democratic stage for a fashion moment — and to remind the world what is possible, referring to his 10-year tenure as a Black man at the helm of a storied couture brand.
The event will also be livestreamed on
TikTok and promoted on its “discovery” area, amplifying the audience and impact of the cruise.
Balmain noted that only a certain number of performers and production crews are allowed on the barge, and that social distancing will be respected.
Rousteing will also take to the water.