Todd Oldham s/s 1993, Balmain s/s 2015

I wasn’t a huge contemporary Balmain enthusiast until Olivier Rousteing took over in 2011. Even then, I was sceptical, of course, because of his association with Kim Kardashian. But, since, my views on both the designer and the reality star have changed — towards positive! (And, yes, I do love the Kimye Spring 2015 ad campaign.) Rousteing is smart, streamlined, with just enough visual noise to keep the always-sexy Balmain unique season after season.

The incoming Spring collection is also a throwback to my favourite decade in fashion, the ’90s, with its curious resemblance to one of the fashion stars of yesteryear, Todd Oldham. It’s definitely not a knockoff and it’s probably not even intentional, but I couldn’t help but draw a comparison to Oldham’s signature flamboyant stripes.

Looking at Oldham’s fun work, it makes me sad that he decided to quit fashion, but I’m glad he’s found happiness designing equally uplifting things.

Balmain s/s 2015, Todd Oldham s/s 1994

Balmain images via style.com. Vintage Oldham from here and here.