Balmain Spring 2027

For his second collection at Balmain, Antonin Tron looked to the house archives for a more provocative side of its history. Backstage photographs taken by Mark Shaw in 1954, revealing corsets, bare backs and the sensuality of Pierre Balmain’s original vision, provided the starting point. The result was a collection that leaned into the label’s racier instincts, with a distinctly louche, ’70s mood and a touch of California counterculture.

Tron turned up the heat with animal prints, wet-look fabrics and close-fitting silhouettes. Eel skin, snakeskin-print leather, viscose and silk lamé brought a glossy finish, while the strong shoulders of the pilot jacket from his debut returned in a more body-conscious wardrobe. Garter belts dangled from miniskirts, and beaded cocktail dresses came dangerously close to swimwear. There was a sense of dressing for the after-hours, rather than the office.

A black cotton-sateen look with a plunging neckline and raw-edged silk lapel captured the collection’s slightly dishevelled glamour. Tron described the woman as having just stepped out of a Cadillac, an image that suited the sunglasses, bare skin and stormy atmosphere of the presentation. Staged at Hôtel de Maisons, the Left Bank mansion once occupied by Karl Lagerfeld, the show also nodded to the designer’s early apprenticeship at Balmain.

Compared with his debut, the collection had more bite and a clearer sense of personality. The wet-look fabrics and clinging shapes reflected Tron’s own interest in surfing, though his expertise in draped jersey remains an area worth exploring further. For now, he has reconnected Balmain with its sensual past; the next step is establishing where he wants to take it.