Balmain played matchmaker a couple of seasons ago for Cher and boyfriend Alexander Edwards.
The superstar met Edwards that night, and they have been together ever since. That was her first season attending; now she’s become a regular at Paris Fashion Week and Balmain shows. While she did not perform, she sang the praises of creative director Olivier Rousteing.
“I just think that he’s so expressive, and I think he tries to make you look good. It’s not just about him,” she said of Rousteing’s designs.
Rousteing put out a collection of full pleated skirts, crisp-shouldered tailored jackets, and lots of volume in forgiving pants and jacket combinations, before moving into produce-themed pieces.
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He celebrated older women, with his runway models spanning a wide age range and many skewing this side of silver.
In the front row, Serena Williams made a last minute entrance, sending photographers into a frenzy.
“Emily in Paris” star Camille Razat started the day shooting on set, before hitting the Balmain show at night. How does she keep up her energy between shoots and shows?
“I had a nap,” she shrugged. No big beauty secret here, she said a snack also helps put her in the mood. “Yeah, great story,” she joked.
She plucked the red rose-covered leather suit she was wearing from the last collection. “Since I saw it on the runway I was like, that is the best look — ever,” she said. Hundreds of hours go into the look. “And it also shows the savoir faire of Balmain.”
Season three of the series promises to bring more intrigue, promised Razat. “More love triangles, problems for all — and fabulous fashion.”
Hari Nef did a quick change from her form fitting Courrèges dress from earlier in the day into a monochrome short suit. “I wouldn’t call it a quick change,” she said. In between the morning show and evening Balmain, she did a hotel hang. “I stayed in bed for a handful of hours watching YouTube and old seasons of ‘America’s Next Top Model.’ That’s really comforting to me.”
Another guest commented that her outfit was a bit “mob wife,” much to her chagrin. “I’m really mad,” she joked, classifying her outfit as more classic Parisian.
She added that she is inspired by Rousteing’s story as an “outsider’s insider and an insider’s outsider,” who has grown up in a series of contrasts and rose up to the top of the fashion profession.
Charlotte Le Bon was in a black-and-white striped suit with a very deep-cut V. The “Yves Saint Laurent” actress framed the bold look as that of a beloved character. “Like a naked ‘Beetlejuice,’ you know, the Tim Burton movie? That’s how I feel right now.”
She’ll next appear in Celine Salette’s “Niki,” the upcoming biopic about French artist Niki Saint-Phalle. While that prestigious director-actor combo has Cannes-bait written all over it — and Le Bon teased a “spring” release — she insisted she has no info about a festival slot before everyone else gets the news mid-April.
It’s game time for former San Antonio Spurs player Tony Parker. The Parisian is getting excited about the Olympic Games that will be taking over Paris in July.
“I’m looking forward to the Olympics. I can’t wait. Obviously, we are very lucky to have them, and it’s going to be a great event. I hope that our whole country is going to be behind the athletes and that we can experience a great two weeks,” he said. He’s one of the Parisians who are planning to stay through the Games, with an already full roster counting basketball, gymnastics, judo, soccer and swimming among the events he has tickets for.
