Sandra‘s Closet

The power of water… Drinking plenty of water is a simple yet vital part of maintaining good health, especially as we get older. Staying hydrated is one of the best things you can do for your health. It can help with everything from healthy heart function and skin elasticity to making you happier and more productive. And good news is that you can drink water in style and also get dressed for it.

Evian is partnering with historic Paris fashion house Balmain. With a unique baroque motif designed by Balmain Creative Director Olivier Rousteing, this limited edition 75cl glass bottle reflects a shared commitment to embracing our heritage. Paying homage to the fashion house’s founder, Pierre Balmain, who grew up in the small mountain village of Saint Jean de Maurienne, not far from evian’s iconic source in the Alps, its design combines the universes of both houses, with delicate light blue lace features and aqua-like droplets inspired by evian’s pure natural mineral water, enhanced with Balmain’s signature embellished details and gold lettering.

The collaboration also includes the launch of a capsule collection of ready-to-wear clothing and accessories. Classic sportswear silhouettes with the shades of soft pastels that one immediately associates with Balmain runways, the evian universe and, above all, refreshing joys of summer.

Relying on a wide variety of eco-friendly practices, materials and innovations, the collection of laid-back styles and accessories places the collaboration’s focus squarely on the powerful possibilities of a future world of fashion sustainability, all grouped under the distinctive tagline of «Together, change is beautiful.»

The Balmain team undertook the task of integrating a diverse range of materials, such as GOTS-certified organic cottons, sustainable viscose, and various recycled materials, to craft an extensive range of clothing items, including swimsuits, tees, hoodies, bombers, trucker jackets, and jeans.

Through this collaboration, evian and Balmain demonstrated a shared dedication to eco friendly practices, even in the minutest details, such as the recycled polyester labels and composition stickers, paper packaging made from pulp derived from sustainably managed FSC-certified forests, and the use of recycled plastic hangers and bags.

As an extension to the collection, evian and Balmain collaborated with Solaris, a recycling innovation industry leader to highlight the new opportunities presented by recycling plastic waste not suitable for circular economy in the fashion industry. Together, they developed a surprising new spin on the popular Balmain B-It slider: a sleek and transparent B-It that is entirely crafted from plastic waste that is typically judged to be unsuitable for reuse within the circular product cycle. Solaris also assisted Rousteing’s accessory design team, helping create an unexpected take on the house’s luxury Blaze handbag, using a 45% plant-based resin mixture to 3D-print the body and cover of the Blaze. The bag’s handle and lock logo were also 3D-printed, relying on a 100% rPET material created from recycled evian bottle waste (evian rPET flakes) that doesn’t meet circularity standards.

The «Together, Change is Beautiful» campaign was shot by filmmaker and photographer Carlota Guerrero, an artist who aims to portray beauty in a natural and frank way.

Guerrero’s film features the highly acclaimed La Marche Bleue dance troupe performing an original dance piece choreographed by founder Leo Walk. «The sequence was choreographed so that the movements would be impossible to perform alone,» noted Walk. «Instead, the dancers achieved their goal together, supporting each other and making it clear, through dance, that together, change is beautiful.»

Stay hydrated, stay in touch.
TO SHOP THE BALMAIN x EVIAN SPORTSWEAR COLLECTION, CLICK HERE PLEASE.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Balmain x evian, © Sandra Bauknecht #evianwater
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French fashion house BALMAIN has partnered with digital artist JEFF COLE to create THREE EXCLUSIVE NFTs inspired by the Balmain Unicorn sneakers.

Balmain S/S 2022

Only on MINTNFT can you make bids of these exclusive NFTs that include both physical and digital utility:

– One pair of Balmain Unicorn sneakers, signed by Creative Director Olivier Rousteing
– One original sketch of the Balmain Unicorn sneaker, signed by Balmain’s Head of Sneaker Design, Safa Sahin
– Two VIP access passes to the Balmain Festival V03 during Paris Fashion Week 2022, in September
– Balmain’s own NFT, the «Non-Fungible Thread», which creates additional utility (drops later during 2022)

Make your bids. Get your Unicorn.
Auction closing: Friday, June 24, 2022, at 12PM EST

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © MINTNFT
DISCLOSURE: We may earn commission from links on this page, but I only recommend products I love. Promise

Today has been my Balmain day. The beautiful pieces of the new Barbie® x Balmain capsule collection have finally arrived in Gstaad as well as this beautiful candle from the newest collaboration of the French Maison with Trudon.

Building upon that long-standing relationship, Balmain’s Creative Director Olivier Rousteing, who is a long-time fan of famous candle maker, has created together with Emilie Bouge, Perfumer at Robertet Paris, the new Balmain x Trudon candle. This beautiful result of a unique partnership between the two Parisian houses, reflects the distinctive savoir-faire and style of both Balmain and Trudon.

The scent is absolutely addictive!

Bouge concocted an expert floral and feminine flourish for Ernesto’s masculine Atlas cedarwood, gunpower and cigar notes, relying on the mysterious and distinct touch of a black rose, in order to create the ideal olfactory reflection of Rousteing’s twenty-first century Balmain.

Head Notes
Bergamot, Cedarwood, Grapefruit, Rhum
Heart Notes
Leather, Spices, Moss, Rose, Tobacco
Base Notes
Cistus, Musk, Patchouli

270g Candle: € 120 –  2,8kg Candle: € 600

This very limited candle is available at SPITZENHAUS ZURICH.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Trudon and © Sandra Bauknecht 

Last month, I posted already a spoiler about this amazing collaboration between Barbie® and Balmain. For the previous post, click here please.

However this is not the first time, Barbie has collaborated with a fashion house, as she launched a collection with Jeremy Scott for Moschino in 2015. Olivier Rousteing and Barbie are also obvious admirers of one another, as the designer sat Barbie and Ken front row at Balmain’s digital fashion show last year.

Olivier Rousteing wrote on his Instagram account, showing him as a child next to a Barbie doll: «So this collaboration is more than just a collaboration. There is a message stronger than just a color card. When I was a little boy, I remembered hearing comments saying: a girl plays with Barbie, a boy with a car. This is such a cliché. As much as blue is for boys, pink is for girls. That’s why I love so much this collaboration, because Balmain and Barbie are stopping clichés and bringing a new ear where FREEDOM is the right word. I feel so proud of this collaboration because we are building a world where you are not defined by neither a gender, neither colors, neither codes that are not relevant today anymore. I am proud of this picture because it shows that the beauty of letting dreams about freedom since a young age happen will make you a free adult with passion.»

«Barbie® and Balmain are embarking upon a distinctly multicultural, inclusive and always joy-filled adventure,» said Olivier Rousteing, Balmain’s creative director.

With a lot of pink which is synonymous with the brand and perfectly aligns with the modern Balmain Army’s bold spirit, and the familiar Balmain’s signatures like the House’s iconic marinière and its mesmerizing labyrinth pattern, this limited-edition Balmain x Barbie capsule collection is the perfect match of fashion and toy industry heritages. Launching on January 13, the collection also includes unisex styles as Ken can be seen wearing a rosy robe in a photo.

TO SHOP BARBIE® AND BALMAIN, CLICK HERE PLEASE.

Bridging the physical and digital worlds, there is also a NFT auction, hosted by @mintnftofficial, that features three Barbie avatars created by @forgetmenot_bln wearing an exclusive look from the high-fashion Balmain x Barbie collection. The highest bidder of each auction will win both the avatar and a physical, one-of-a-kind Barbie-scaled version of the outfit their avatar is wearing.

The auction is live on NFT.MattelCreations.com, so get ready to bid!

 If you’ve ever wanted to be a Barbie girl in a Balmain world, this is your collection!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Balmain #BALMAINxBARBIE
DISCLOSURE: We may earn commission from links on this page, but I only recommend products I love. Promise.

Lollapalooza, the American music festival, is taking a luxury gloss for its Paris edition and invites you to a tailor-made event in collaboration with Balmain and Jean Imbert to celebrate together the essence of Lolla Paris: music, fashion and gastronomy, for a bucolic and musical picnic on Sunday July 19th on the lush green grounds of the beautiful Hippodrome ParisLongchamp (2 Route des Tribunes, 75016 Paris), the popular horse-racing complex. In the wake of the corona pandemic, it is possible because France allows 5000 capacity events, but it is vastly downsized compared to previous years.

Balmain created a designer picnic blanket, while chef Jean Imbert took care of the gourmet nibbles and Veuve Cliquot to indulge completely.

Building upon Balmain and Lollapallooza’s long-term commitment to supporting the life-saving work of (RED), the ticket sales will be used to support The Global Fund COVID-19 response.
Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a catastrophic impact on the globe’s most vulnerable communities. To help raise awareness and funds for this initiative, Olivier Rousteing has customized five pairs of the house’s best-selling Balmain Sneakers, as well as several collector’s picnic blankets to be sold online on the day of the event—with all profits raised going to The Global Fund’s COVID-19 Response.

Balmain Music Festival in 2019 and the new sneaker model with straps

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

– Access will be at the main entrance to the Hippodrome, at the Grid of Honor.
– Doors will open from 12:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m.
– End of the event at 4:00 p.m.
– Ticket received by e-mail to be printed in A4 format.
– Identity document of the purchaser of the valid ticket, which must be presented at the entrance.
– The ticket being valid for 2 people, you will be asked to come together at the entrance to access the event.
– According to the sanitary measures in force at the time of the event, please bring a mask.

TO GET YOUR TICKET, CLICK HERE PLEASE.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Balmain

This year Olivier Rousteing launched a new BALMAIN eveningwear collection, called 44 François Premier, named after the Paris address of Pierre Balmain’s original atelier. It pays homage to couture and the house itself. The label is white and bigger than the usual Balmain tag. The gowns are delivered in a beautiful white box. Here you see me wearing one with a beautiful train from the F/W 2018 capsule collection for the ASW Winter Weekend charity gala dinner in Gstaad Mid December. The report will follow shortly.

My look: Off-the-shoulder button-embellished grain de poudre wool gown by Balmain, leather platform pumps by Gucci, vintage eagle clutch and matching earrings, both by Chanel. Rose diamond ring by Piaget.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © David Biedert Photography

Making history as the first black woman to headline Coachella, the famous California music festival, Beyoncé used the opportunity to celebrate the culture of historically black colleges with her performance. To do so, she hit the stage in several custom college letter sweatshirts designed by Balmain while singing her famous songs, such as «Run the World (Girls)». Immediately after, fans were searching the internet for ways to get their hands on these cool pieces. And now, we can all finally buy a BAK-lettered sweatshirt.

Printed cotton-blend jersey hooded top

The six-piece collection, an iconic collaboration for music and fashion, features three T-shirts and three sweatshirts offered in black, hot pink, and bright yellow, like the one Queen Bey wore to open her Coachella set and riffs on the signature varsity styles and legacy of America’s 37 historically black colleges and universities.

Proceeds from the collection, fittingly, will be used to help fund the impressive work of UNCF (United Negro College Fund), which helps thousands of students attend college, thrive, graduate and become tomorrow’s leaders.

Cropped embellished cotton-blend jersey hooded top

Me with Olivier Rousteing

In a statement, Balmain creative director Olivier Rousteing explained: «After experiencing that beautiful partnership, we weren’t ready to just walk away without adding gone final, perfecting touch. This collection of hoodies and tees, based on key designs from our Coachella efforts, responds to our need to repay an obvious debt for the inspiration we received from the signature spirit and legacy of America’s historically black colleges and universities(HBCUs). Which is why we are so very pleased to announce that proceeds from this collection will help fund the impressive work of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF)—helping to guarantee that tomorrow’s leaders will be able to attend college, thrive and graduate.»

Printed cotton-jersey T-shirt

 The Balmain x Beyoncé Coachella collection is available exclusively at Balmain’s Paris flagship store, at the House’s revamped digital platform and at NET-A-PORTER.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Balmain

“No matter your origin, no matter your tribe. Come together, be seen, be heard. Because we are all worth it.”
Olivier Rousteing, Creative Director, Balmain Paris

Two years ago, Balmain already made a foray into the world of affordable luxury with its H&M designer collaboration. This fall, the #BalmainArmy will find new members of the tribe as L‘Oréal Paris has joined forces with Balmain’s creative director Olivier Rousteing for a collection of twelve limited COLOR RICHE couture lipsticks. One shade more beautiful than the other.

Olivier Rousteing with me

Needless to say that Olivier Balmain’s knows how to run a social media hype. For the launch of the French house’s first lipstick, he is accompanied by twelve model muses that each has inspired one of the dozen shades.

This collaboration with L’Oréal is the perfect fit to provide customers with access to the bejeweled splendor of the long-established fashion house that was founded by Pierre Balmain in 1945 who defined France’s fashion renaissance after World War II. Continuing in the trailblazing spirit of the brand’s founder, Olivier Rousteing is inspired by the confident style of modern women and incorporates the maison’s mastery of embroidery and embellishment into his collections. His love for detail can also be seen in the amazing packaging of the lipsticks: a decadent ode to precious materials, such as emerald-green malachite, blue lapis lazuli, and onyx.

Three colour collections embody three femininities:

SAFARI TRIBE (Green Case)
905 BALMAIN INSTINCT: Ysaunny Brito (Star Shade)
647 URBAN SAFARI: Alexina Graham
648 GLAMAZONE: Luma Grothe
469 FEVER: Maria Borges

ROCK TRIBE (Blue Case)
467 FREEDOM: Soo Joo Park ( Star Shade)
650 POWER: Valentina Sampaio
902 LEGEND: Neelam Gill
901 REBELLION: Grace Bol

COUTURE TRIBE (Black Case)
356 CONFIDENCE: Doutzen Kroes (Star Shade)
355 DOMINATION: Lara Stone
468 LIBERATION: Cindy Bruna
256 CONFESSION: Ming Xi

I was over the moon when this exclusive box arrived at my door step a few weeks ago so that I could test each one of the shades. Being a huge Balmain fan as you know, this is a collector’s piece that I will keep forever.
(The golden clutch is a vintage Balmain piece.)

My favorite shade of all? 256 CONFESSION. It is the perfect nude shade.
(Metallic jacquard jacket by Balmain.)

Time to have a piece of Balmain on your lips. The L’Oréal Paris x Balmain Paris capsule lipstick collection launches today September 20, 2017 for CHF 21.90 each, in Switzerland at Coop and Manor.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Balmain and © Sandra Bauknecht

Balmain is collaborating with the Paris Opera on «Renaissance», a new creation from choreographer and dancer Sébastien Bertaud, with Balmain’s Creative Director Olivier Rousteing designing all of the ballet’s costumes.

The partnership builds upon the singular talents and visions of two young French talents – both Rousteing and Bertaud are thirty years old and both are from Bordeaux – and their shared appreciation for the history and traditions behind both, Balmain and the Paris Opera.

«Renaissance» forms part of the Bertaud / Bouché / Paul / Valastro performance at the Opera Garnier, running from June 13th through June 19th. The Paris Opera, which will soon celebrate its 350th anniversary, has placed the spotlight squarely on Bertaud and three other emerging creators from the Opera National de Paris, giving each carte blanche for their creation.

Bertaud’s ballet pays tribute to the refinement of the Ecole de Danse Française—from the Versailles of Louis XIV to the Opéra Garnier of today and Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto No. 2. Since his creation celebrates the elegance, sophistication and opulence of the legendary French dance academy, Bertaud believed that a collaboration with Balmain was a natural fit.

“Of course, it is an amazing honor to work with the Paris Opera,” notes Rousteing. “There are few institutions that embody so well the essence of French culture and creativity. Obviously, designing for the rigors and techniques of classical dance was a new challenge for me and my team – but it one that we very much enjoyed facing. As someone who has always been fascinated by the beauty and power of dance, this project was a joy to work on, giving me the unique opportunity to learn from and share ideas with a group of incredibly talented artists and craftsmen for whom nothing seems to be impossible.”

Rousteing’s designs highlight both the acclaimed savoir-faire of the Balmain’s atelier and the recognizable modern style of the designer. Impressive golden and silver embellishments cover flesh-colored performance pieces, with rhinestones and pearls embroidered directly onto bodysuits, tights and draped tees. A similar treatment has been given to the dancers’ spencer coats, cardigans and fringe skirts.

As a ballet addict, I am so much looking forward to seeing the final result of this beautiful collaboration!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Balmain

Olivier Rousteing, Balmain‘s Creative Director, wrote yesterday on his instagram account: «U made me love FASHION yesterday, U make me love FASHION today, and U re going to make me love FASHION in the future.» In the pictures that he commented on, he was next to Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell.

His #BalmainArmy is in expansion mode and the three ’90s supermodels are the faces of the S/S 2016 campaign shot by Steven Meisel. Posing in the designer’s body-conscious and ruffled new seaon’s creations, they look as stunning as 20 years ago and are a perfect fit for the French Maison. Personally speaking, the three icons are so much more beautiful than Kendall and Gigi, the previous faces. I am sure this campaign will have a lot of success.

TO SHOP BALMAIN ONLINE, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Balmain