Fashion collection Balmain Autumn/Winter 2012-13 - Pearls, jewels, green velvet and gold all worked together as wider-in-the shoulder and boxier jackets - where in the past they had been inverted triangles - took to the catwalk. It was out, not up, in silhouette - a trick that brought a real freshness.
The colour palette, too, proved this new fresh luxe direction - no longer muddied by the Balmain girl's night out before. Think medieval green, pinks and silver, glistening brocades, pearlescent shades and opulent gold with cream and white.
This collection conveyed layers of cultural references - in the ornately embroidered biker jackets not dissimilar to tapestries, and the first series of pearl studded looks which looked like extravagant sets of armour.
