Olivier Rousteing had some large shoes to fill at Balmain after the former designer Christophe Decarnin had spent the last two years taking the line to a new level. although Rousteing had already presented his debut collection, during the past Resort season, this was his first “all eyes on him” moment.

for Spring/Summer 2012 Rousteing focused on wearability versus the former designers bigger is better attitude. do not get me wrong, embellishment was still used but in a much more user, or wearer in this case, friendly way. metallics were used in heavy rotation, from a gold and white patterned mini skirt to a pair of high-waisted gold pants, and most notably used as huge belt buckles on looks paired with leather. denim was also used on a pair of low-rise wide leg pants and a flared denim skirt.

:: designer Olivier Rousteing. images via style.com.