You should critically examine whether you believe the fashion brand is providing a consistent brand experience, understand its activities as charted in a brand pyramid and if its commercial activities are in alignment with its brand values.
Under the direction of Olivier Rousteing, Balmain has flourished into a modern brand leading a revolution in marketing and the construction of brand identity. Rousteing has managed to maintain Pierre Balmain’s original values and aesthetic whilst revitalising the brand’s suffering reputation and financial success. Explored here through brand experience and identity, consumer loyalty, ethics, marketing strategy and the influence of fast fashion, the rise of Balmain in recent years is an interesting example of how quickly a brand can re establish itself in an overcrowded market and resonate with an incredibly wide consumer base.
SS10 RTW by Decarnin (Vogue, 2009)
“Guiding French fashion to its renaissance” (Balmain, 2015), Pierre Balmain founded Balmain just one year after the end of World War 2, with the mission to “always dress women in the right look for the right moment” (Balmain, 2015). Whilst establishing a luxury fashion brand during a time of global financial deficit was certainly a daring move, Balmain’s “jolie madame” (Balmain, 2015) style was “boldly feminine and opulent” (Balmain, 2015), prompting those wealthy enough to invest in a new style which moved away from the modest and practical styles popularised during the war. From here the brand continued to thrive and became one of the most famous Parisian houses until Balmain’s death in 1982. 36 years of direction under the house’s founder clearly established the brand’s identity and maintained a consistent brand experience, however the years that followed were less stable. In 29 years Balmain saw 5 different Creative Directors come and go. Although this is not unusual for a luxury brand and Balmain describes its Creative Directors as “strong designers” (Balmain, 2015) with a “respect for the foundations and traditions of Balmain” (Balmain, 2015), this shift undoubtedly lessened the consistency of the brand experience and lead to the struggles the house faced in later years. In 2004 Balmain “filed for debt protection” (Vogue, 2004) after the loss of a £3.3 million investment and had to begin rebuilding the house in order to restore its previous reputation and financial stability, however this is a natural part of a brands story; each Creative Director is responsible for developing the house further and moving away from the past. This is particularly important for Balmain, given its mission to always remain relevant to the current “moment” (Balmain, 2015).
SS10 RTW by Decarnin (Vogue, 2009)
Although consumers saw that Balmain was struggling financially in 2004, they remained loyal and in 2006 under the direction of Christophe Decarnin, “a new generation of customers bought heavily” (Fury, 2014) from his work, demonstrating that Balmain has always had the potential to recover from difficult times, due to it’s clear identity and provision of a consistent experience. However the brand was again “left in jeopardy” (The Business of Fashion, 2015) after Decarnin’s departure. “Like fashion, branding changes at the speed of light” (Hancock 2015) and so since 2011, Creative Director Olivier Rousteing has revolutionised Balmain. His designs “chime with the way women of his generation are dressing now” (Balmain, 2015) and his development of the brand’s identity has prompted the fashion industry and consumers to adopt new feelings and judgements about the brand. Rousteing himself is conscience of maintaining the identity of Balmain, ensuring that “Pierre Balmain is always in [his] mind when [he sketches]” (Wilson, 2015) and that he admires the “craftsmanship and richness” (Wilson, 2015) of Oscar de la Renta’s work for Balmain. This attention to the work of previous Creative Directors is part of what makes Rousteing so successful at Balmain and his understanding of and immersion in the brand translates to consumers as an enthusiasm bound to uphold the values of the brand they are so deeply invested in. As any luxury brand does, Balmain caters to high profile women and has now returned to a military style that Pierre Balmain was endeavouring to move against when he founded the brand, so as to cater for the “powerful” (The Business of Fashion, 2015) women Rousteing envisions in his clothes. “Structured shoulder pads, waists defined with belts and sharp tailoring” (Wilson, 2015) now define Balmain, promoting an image of strength and confidence that is appropriate for today, when modern feminist movements are gaining more and more media and public attention; modern women develop a sense of loyalty to a brand which supports their independence and femininity. The enthusiasm of Rousteing’s famous friends also demonstrates a loyalty to his work, with Jennifer Lopez declaring that “everyone who puts [his work] on feels like ‘Oh my god, this is made for me’.” (Akhtar, 2015) This prompts a new loyalty from Lopez’s fans to Rousteing’s work and suggests to potential new clients that Balmain is designed for them as valued individuals, who return their loyalty to the brand. By developing a group of women who are loyal to Rousteing and Balmain, the brand resonates more widely and its salience increases within the industry. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West star in Balmain 20019 campaign (Balmain, 2009)
The values and ethics Rousteing has bought to Balmain have placed the house uniquely as a French fashion brand conscience of the issues concerning ethnic diversity in fashion. As one of the only black creative directors today, Rousteing consistently produces diverse advertising campaigns and runway show casts. The fashion industry is heavily criticised for its lack of diversity and Rousteing believes that this issue lies with the ignorance of other designers, explaining that when he selects his models he “[does not] even see if she’s black or white [he] just sees that they’re beautiful.” (SHOWstudio, 2015) His passion prompted him to choose Kim Kardashian and Kanye West for his most recent campaign, explaining that in addition to his close personal relationship with the couple, he “never had reference of a mixed ethnicity couple” (Wilson, 2015), placing Balmain as a house leading in the promotion of diversity in fashion, prompting customers to turn to Balmain as a brand which passionately supports consumers of all races. In an industry highly exclusive of most body types, Rousteing supports diversity of body image for women, describing his muse Kardashian as a woman who is “pushing the boundaries when it comes to the female form” (Lindig, 2015). “The communication between a particular clothing brand and the consumer is a special connection” (Hancock, 2009) and the way Rousteing presents his ethical stance is an important factor in modernising Balmain and repositioning it as a front-runner in French fashion by personally connecting with a diverse consumer base, as there is “no one picture” (The Business of Fashion, 2015) of the Balmain woman.
Rousteing’s Instagram (Rousteing, 2015)
Hancock argues that “couture garments rely on craftsmanship to sell” (Hancock, 2009) and whilst this is true, it is also clear that a well constructed marketing strategy is vital in creating a widely resonant brand. Only 24 years old when he began at Balmain, Rousteing’s age no doubt contributes to the radically modern state of Balmain’s marketing strategy. The models he chooses are as much a part of his marketing plan as they are of his ethos as a designer. He claims to use Kardashian and West “because they are a part of the new world” (Lindig, 2015), Rihanna because “everybody wants to be a singer” (Fury, 2015) and the new generation of Instagram models because he feels people are more interested by “real women on the catwalk” (Akhtar, 2015), rather than anonymous faces. Whilst these motivations are no doubt sincere and well rooted in his customer’s desires, there is no escaping the fact that these are some of the most famous women in the world, themselves acting as walking advertisements for Balmain. Whilst fashion brands have been using celebrity endorsement for years, it is rare to see a Balmain campaign in which the models featured don’t have an online following of millions. Hancock describes “those who sell fashion as storytellers” (Hancock, 2009) and Rousteing tells the current Balmain story to his incredibly large following on Instagram of 1.4 million on his personal account and 2.5 million on the official Balmain account. Few Creative Directors attract this size of online following leading critics to describe Rousteing as “his own best advertisement” (Fury, 2015) and allowing a highly visible image of the Balmain story to reach consumers. He describes his online interactions as “a new form of communication” (The Business of Fashion, 2015) and “an interesting way to listen to the street” (SHOWstudio, 2015) which further explains how Rousteing’s designs are so in touch with the younger generations.
The wide consumer group reached by Balmain’s marketing strategy has practically guaranteed the success of the BalmainxH&M collection. The 11th designer to collaborate with H&M (Balmain, 2015), Rousteing’s collection has created one of the highest feelings of anticipation in the brand’s history. As part of his interactions with social media as a wide reaching touch point, Rousteing has promoted the collaboration through the hash tags #balmainarmy and #balmaination, allowing his media team and “army” (Wilson, 2015) of celebrity fans to also promote the collection. Obviously the collaboration is not just a new creative outlet for Rousteing, he is also aware that he is “going to get some new fans” (Akhtar, 2015) by creating a more accessible version of Balmain and by using social media to heavily promote the collection. The collaboration also acts as a vehicle for market level mobility for both of the brands, increasing visibility and widening consumer base. Some may see the collaboration as something that could lessen Balmain’s status as a luxury brand, however Rousteing stated that “[he] wouldn’t have done this collection if [he] couldn’t keep [his] identity” (Akhtar, 2015) and in turn the identity of Balmain. Rousteing is also aware and supportive of the on-going unofficial collaboration between luxury and fast fashion brands. “It’s genius what they do today… they mix a Celine shape with my Balmain print” (Fury, 2014). This positive and realistic view of how designer styles trickle down into the high street shows Rousteing’s modern view on fashion, which is what has created Balmain’s success today.
Balmain’s Instagram (Balmain, 2015)
Overall it is clear that Rousteing has a talent in seeing new ways to move forward in the fashion industry, given his unique position as a young, black Creative Director. His vision and attitude to his work is admirable and observing the progress Balmain has made over such a short amount of time is fascinating. Balmain’s CEO Emmanuel Diemoz admitted that he was “expecting an evolution not a revolution” (The Business of Fashion, 2015) when he hired Rousteing and considering the impact he has had on the brand so far, it will be interesting to see how Balmain progresses in the future. Naturally, the brand will expand globally, opening new stores and widening distribution, as any brand would. However it would be interesting to see Balmain become as influential as other Parisian houses such as Dior or Chanel, placing it’s adverts in the front pages of magazines and beginning to expand into couture or more accessible sister lines. Hopefully Balmain will also continue to uphold and develop the values Rousteing has bought to the house. In any case, Balmain remains a brand that provides it’s loyal clients with a consistent brand experience as defined in its carefully constructed identity.
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Photo References Balmain (2014) Balmain. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/balmainparis?fref=ts (Accessed: 1 October 2015). Balmain (2015) BALMAIN (@balmainparis) • Instagram photos and videos. Available at: https://www.instagram. com/balmainparis/ (Accessed: 23 November 2015). Balmain (2015) The heritage. Available at: http://www.balmain.com/en_uk/heritage (Accessed: 1 October 2015). Vogue (2009) Balmain spring 2010 ready-to-wear fashion show. Available at: http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/ spring-2010-ready-to-wear/balmain#collection (Accessed: 1 October 2015). Vogue (2015) Spring 2016 Ready To Wear Balmain. Available at: http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2016ready-to-wear/balmain#collection (Accessed: 1 October 2015).