The long awaited catwalk pictures are now available from Style.com of the hotly anticipated H&M x Balmain collaboration... sadly, they are far from inspiring. At best, Balmain has reinvented the hideously unflattering harem trouser. At worst, their collection looks like the off-cuts of the Kardashian x Dorothy Perkins collaboration (yeah, remember that, Mrs West??)
The ubiquitous presence of gold lamé and sequins did not tip the scale enough into ostentatious glam rock to be exciting, and instead inhabited a no-mans-land of 'misguided woman who got dressed for a night at Aura in Mayfair in the dark.'
Is it just me or does this belt look more New Look than catwalk? If I wanted cheap gold metal I would haul myself down to the Freedom @ Topshop sale and stock up on the same standard dangly earrings and waist crushing 'statement belts' that they stock every. season. without. fail (presumably to appeal to students who are forced to re-wear their one tight Boohoo little black dress on a succession of nights out, with only a few quid to give it a new 'twist' each time).
The same embellished body-con dress that has been floating around as a knock-off on the cheap Korean websites since about 2009 made a further appearance. Balmain is obviously plumbing the depths of it's best-selling items and deciding what would best be flogged to an H&M audience of fashion conscious but uninspired youth who are more interested in gold stilettos and hair extensions than being the next Man Repeller.
Come on Balmain, you can do better than this. I know it's a high street tie-in, but that's no excuse to revert to tired designs and cheapening your aesthetic to the point of looking like the sale rail at Dotty P's!