On April 6th, Balmain announced that Christophe Decarnin is parting ways with the iconic French design house. Consequently, rumors spread about Decarnin's possible substance abuse and mental instability but according to Women's Wear Daily, those rumors were overblown. However, tensions within the design house are said to run high — Balmain's chairman and CEO Alain Hivelin have very different views on the label's future direction.
And now, the new designer has been named: Olivier Rousteing. Rousteing worked at Robert Cavalli for six years, and then at Balmain since 2008. I think it's great that a little-known designer is getting the spotlight at a highly successful label. Hopefully, he will successfully carry on the signature glam-punk look that Decarnin developed for the past 6 years.
byezzChanging the topic, Karl Lagerfeld premiered his series of commercials for Magnum ice cream bars last night in New York. When asked why he's promoting ice cream even though he doesn't eat sugar, Karl replied, "I like advertising. I love my job in fashion. I love my job as a photographer, but making films was something I hadn’t done. If I was isolated in one job, I would get bored...I would eat ice cream if I could. I made advertisements for Dom Perignon Champagne, and I don’t drink alcohol. After all, I’m a dress designer and I don’t wear dresses." I can only find one of the commercials online, but according to various sources, the other two feature Rachel Bilson portraying an art student and ballet dancer enjoying the delicious taste of Magnum ice cream. Obviously, Baptiste Giabiconi is featured in each commercial as well (grumble grumble). Why can't someone endearing like Ethan James or Matthew Hitt be the one to act awkwardly and speak English with a thick French accent? And on a side note, no, Karl is not releasing a fragrance called "Paper Passion" meant to smell like old books. Who wants to smell like musty paper that's sat around in a termite-infested bookshelf for ten years? That's so very demode.
P.S. James Franco is pursuing another PhD, this time at University of Houston. James, you don't have to prove to us that you're a smart guy. I mean, you're James Franco, after all.