Balmain, autumn-winter 2026-2027 collection, presented, Paris, March 4, 2026. PAOLO CAPONETTO
In 2022, "sexy" was everywhere on the runways. A trashy version, it had echoes of the 2000s: low-rise jeans, crop tops and micro-miniskirts. After influencing street fashion, it eventually faded away from the scene. But during this autumn-winter 2026-2027 Fashion Week, which is currently taking place in Paris until March 10, the idea of a sexy woman is making a comeback, but in the exact opposite form: one of extreme elegance.
That is the approach Antonin Tron hopes will relaunch Balmain. The designer was appointed in November 2025 to replace Olivier Rousteing who, after 14 years as artistic director, had established a maximalist, flashy aesthetic. No doubt in order to turn the page, but also because the archives naturally led him there, Tron chose to take the opposite approach. "Looking at the work of Pierre Balmain [1914-1982], who, after the war, felt an urgent need to open a couture house, I was struck by the modernity of his work," the designer explained.
The 40-something chose to reinterpret certain dresses from 1946, "all opulence and restrained sensuality," featuring deep necklines. He also revisited other pieces in draped jersey from 1953, "very similar" to what Tron designed for his own label, Atlein (which he put on hold for Balmain). Pierre Balmain's connection to Hollywood also inspired Tron to create jackets with broad shoulders and slit skirts reminiscent of film noir heroines. Animal motifs, drawn from the founder's apartment decor and rendered in pearls, also sparkled on coats and straight skirts.
