Shop the Latest Arrivals from Balmain at UrlfreezeShops

Hooded Leather Crest Jacket | Long Sleeve Embroidered Chest Logo Tee | 7 Pocket Badge Biker Jean

Hooded Leather Crest Jacket

Military Badge Denim Jacket | Badge Zip Hoody | Distressed Washed Biker Jean | Cameron Runner

Military Badge Denim Jacket

Circle Logo Lightweight Hoody

Zip Biker Sweat Pant | Cameron Runner | Weekend Bag

For SS18, Creative Director at Balmain - the now internationally recognised, Olivier Rousteing - delivered a meditation on his French heritage and the homogenisation of global fashion product in an Americanised consumer landscape.

Prompted to pen his love-letter to Paris after his appearance on a talk show during last year's French election campaign resulted in a flurry of comments on Instagram praising him for his 'perfect French', Rousteing realised that his native French heritage had become lost in a design and celebrity marketplace that's so US-centric.

In a bid to re-assert himself as a French designer with French ideas and intuition, Rousteing delivers a slew of nautical inspired designs complete with Breton stripes, and Chanel and Saint Laurent-inspired silhouettes.

By no means intended to disparage American fashion or style (with notable US customers ranging from Kim Kardashian and Kanye West to Chrissy Teigen and Rihanna), Rousteing included details borrowed from the classic Americana playbook, delivering a street-ready infusion of Franco-American aesthetic cues ready for a global market.

Balmain SS18 is now available at UrlfreezeShops