The latest Balmain Resort 2018 collection from Creative Director Olivier Rousteing combines couture-worthy craftsmanship with unapologetic sex appeal. The new lineup of party dresses spotlights the ornate workmanship signature to the heritage French label together with a Western romance.

The offering has drawn on those quintessential elements of Parisian chic with Breton stripes paired with heavy tweeds accented with chains and intricately ornate jackets that take their inspiration from tapestries. There is a trace of military inspiration in those heavy-shouldered jackets, all beautifully undercut with a delicacy and subtlety that is provided by smatterings of fringed silk and lace embellishments.

Rousteing’s Balmain has always been about exuberance—there were Americanisms like fringe and Western shirt detailing in the mix here, too—but this collection benefitted from a new sense of softness and ease.