11 Interesting Fun Facts About Pierre Balmain

Are you interested to know some fun facts about Pierre Balmain?

Pierre Alexandre Claudius Balmain was born on the 18th of May 1914 and died on the 29th of June 1982. He was a French fashion designer and the creator of the renowned post-war fashion house Balmain. 

Balmain was a man of style and sophistication and called the art of dressmaking “the architecture of movement.” The Duchess of Windsor, the Queen of Belgium, numerous prominent film stars from the 1950s, as well as the experimental author Gertrude Stein and her girlfriend Alice B. Toklas, were among his clients.

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Designer Pierre Balmain valued financial gain over public attention destroyed by a lifetime spent courting foreign monarchs and Hollywood’s elite at the expense of Parisian society.

Who would have thought that there was a fashion icon who preferred money over fame? Let’s find out more information about Pierre Balmain, the talented French fashion designer.

11 Interesting Fun Facts About Pierre Balmain

1. Designing curtains was their family business

Pierre’s mother worked at a clothing store named Galeries Parisiennes, where she met Pierre’s father who was the owner. This store was run by Pierre’s two aunts together with another very profitable drapery business inherited from his grandparents.

When Pierre was younger, he spent a lot of time at the store crafting and dressing paper dolls, which helped him subconsciously acquire the concept of fashion. Their business was doing okay back then until Pierre’s father died, and his mother discovered they were not well-off. 

Pierre’s father kept it a secret that their family business had been losing money for some time. What was only left to them was a chest full of theatrical costumes from his father’s amateur dramatics and charades performances.

These costumes from his father had a big significant impact on the young Balmain’s creative growth.

2. Pierre Balmain was originally an architect major

One of the most interesting facts about Pierre Balmain is that he had no interest in entering the fashion business originally. After leaving the Savoy region of St-Jean-de-Maurienne, France, Balmain traveled to Paris to pursue a degree in architecture.

He then took a flight to join the French Air Force. After a brief military career, jobs with Christian Dior, Lucien Lelong, and Edward Molyneux stoked his newly discovered enthusiasm for fashion design.

3. Society women inspired him to do fashion

Balmain was a scholar for Architectuere in Chambéry in the year of 1933 at École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. Sometimes, he would visit his uncle in the spa city of Aix-les-Bains on weekends and hung out with people there. 

After getting to know some prominent society women, Balmain became interested in fashion again.

4. He traveled country-to-country to promote his Parisian designs

Balmain traveled abroad for promotional purposes even in his early years. He visited Australia in 1947 to spread the word about his fashion works there. He developed a line that was eventually produced there.

He began operating stores and factories in the US in 1951. In 1955, he brought a collection of ready-to-wear clothing to America, for which he was honored with the coveted Neiman Marcus Fashion Award.

Each item from Balmain has a Parisian fashion look. All of the items combine vintage, traditional Balmain with modern youth. Balmain appeals to independent, forceful, and strong men and women.

5. Balmain’s fashion career boomed out of gossip

According to Pierre Balmain’s autobiography book entitled My Years and Seasons (published in English in 1953), his fashion career was originally launched and boomed because of two of the most renowned international fashion gossips, diarist, photographer, and costumier Cecil Beaton and illustrator and designer Christian Berard.

They spread the story about “the new kid in town,” which launched Balmain’s career.

6. Pierre Balmain preferred money to career waves

Most other fashion icons want to seek attention and fame out of their products. Pierre Balmain was different. He sought to generate more money than career waves. 

Balmain is never mentioned in the same sentence as Balenciaga, Chanel, Dior, or Vuitton despite his success and multiple achievements, including his 1949 Jolie Madame Fragrance and the launching of Revlon’s first perfume, Miss Balmain. 

Even though various designers, including Alastair Blair, Erik Mortensen (Balmain’s lover), and Oscar de la Renta, took over the firm after its sale in 1970, his name was seldom referenced for the rest of the 20th century. 

7. Jolie Madame Collection

Balmain’s fashion firm was well-known for its “Jolie Madame” apparel style when it first debuted in the 1950s. This phrase was described as items that were beautifully and gracefully crafted. 

Because of the successful collection of the Jolie Madame Apparel, Pierre Balmain unveiled a leather fragrance for women named Jolie Madame by Pierre Balmain to further associate itself with this phrase.

The fragrance was inspired by the after-war atmosphere of the Parisian nights.

8. Michael Jackson loved Balmain’s designs

Here is an interesting trivia about Pierre Balmain.

Before Balmain became the “It” brand nowadays, the prestigious Parisian label was wildly popular with sophisticated and wealthy fashion enthusiasts, including the legendary music sensation Michael Jackson. 

The King of Pop was fitted with hundreds of the designer’s military-inspired coats that were accessorized with flashy buttons, buckles, and accents while working with the fashion house’s former creative director, Christophe Decarnin.

9. Christian Dior and Pierre Balmain were friends once before becoming rivals

Balmain’s career at Molyneux was cut short because of his military enlistment in 1936. But after gaining a solid foundation in cutting and tailoring, Balmain joined Lucien Lelong immediately after returning from the war.

This is where he first met his friend and mentor, Christian Dior. They became close, but the relationship was ruined when Balmain requested Dior to join him in his self-named studio.

Despite expressing initial enthusiasm, Dior ultimately determined the collaboration would not succeed, and the two parted ways bitterly and resentfully, going on to become rivals in the fashion industry.

10. Balmain’s fame faded after his death

Balmain sold his fashion house in 1970 at the age of 56, but he remained as the company’s creative director until 1980. But by the time he passed away from liver cancer in July of 1982, his reputation in high fashion had vanished.

By this time, over 130 manufacturers were producing goods under the Balmain brand in industries like menswear, jewelry, and luggage. Erik Mortensen, his lover and protégé, took the reigns right away.

Over the course of the previous 40 years, many well-known designers, including Christophe Decarnin and Olivier Rousteing, have gradually worked to revive the once-glamorous House of Balmain.

11. The House of Balmain’s creative director today was an orphan

Prior to being adopted, Balmain’s creative director Olivier Rousteing spent his first few years of life in an orphanage. Because he was black and his parents were white, the orphanage staff initially tried to convince them not to adopt him. But as soon as they caught a glimpse of Olivier, they realized they had to bring him into the family.

Olivier’s life completely changed as he adapted to his new existence in Bordeaux, France. He claimed that his parents responded to all of his whims during his later youth and that he was “spoiled.”

Today, the estimated net worth of Olivier Rousteing is $100 million. He is among the most talented fashion designers in the world, and his name has received many honors and accolades.