By: Emily Contreras

Please forgive me for the late recap on Paris Fashion Week, but I have my reasons I shall reveal in just a little bit.

Paris Fashion Week showcased many excellent collections, but I think there was one show that stood out among all the others: Balmain. The collection was vibrant and chic– everything a Spring/Summer collection should be. The combination of color and fabrics took me to another place and it was a job well done by designer Olivier Rousteing. Rousteing has a niche for layering textures to create dynamic and visually appealing clothing. The playful nature of this collection synthesizes beautifully with the more tasteful and classy aspects.

This Balmain collection kept up with this year’s theme of striking color. However, the interesting thing about Rousteing’s individual pieces is that most of the pieces are solid colors, but because of the way the fabrics are layered this solid-ness isn’t boring. The whole collection is aesthetically pleasing and a huge win for Balmain.

Now the reason for my delay … Earlier this year, Olivier Rousteing announced Balmain’s new collaboration with H&M called Balmain X H&M. This collab is a pretty huge deal in the fashion world and many of us have been waiting in anticipation for months for the collection to be released. Last week, the collection was leaked, but the official collection has now been released and it’s stunning. It is the epitome of the best of Balmain. I am so enthralled with this collection and since it is an H&M collection it will be slightly more affordable, which is great. Here are some of my favorite pieces, but to see the rest of the collection head over to H&M’s website.