Celebrating the third season of the Balmain Festival, the Spring 2023 RTW collection featured over 100 looks with a sense of Renaissance, celebrating hope and transformation.

With sculptural shapes to artistic prints, garments pointed to a historically reimagined form of design. “This is a composition blending my European heritage and outlook with the beauty and traditions of Africa—reflecting today’s diverse and powerful new world where rebirth and fresh possibilities are possible,” Rousteing said in a statement.

A color palette of neutrals and pastels defined the runway while prints, when used, were intricate and resembled that of a watercolor painting. Shapes were traditionally Balmain—the opening wicker-looking dresses very much a revitalizing of Fall 2022—as gentle fabrics combined seamlessly with voluminous and experimental materials. Tailored jackets were long and sleek, providing the perfect layering piece, while elsewhere baggy pants sat beneath loosely wrapped tops and long sleeve bodycon dresses accentuated and exaggerated the figure. Braided tops and skirts met rich chocolate brown overcoats, as silky flame-motif garments rounded out the ready-to-wear portion.

The collection also featured 15-selected couture looks each one as unique as the next. With a commitment to sustainability—raw, undyed fabrics were used alongside Ecovero-certified viscose and sustainable Italian linens—Balmain remains rooted in its signature yet conscious of the boundaries defining tasteful eccentricity.

Watch as this season, Olivier Rousteing invited Kourtrajmeuf behind the scenes to capture the making of the Balmain Festivcal.