Pierre Balmain founded his now-iconic label in 1945. Alongside fellow couture titans Christian Dior and Hubert de Givenchy, the French designer's postwar take on luxe dressing featured bell-shaped skirts falling from slender waists, structured jackets over sheath day dresses and embellishments like fur trim; he called the look “Jolie Madame.” The Duchess of Windsor was an early fan, prompting an aristocratic following.
From the voluminous skirts of the post-World War II “New Look” favored by Hollywood icons like Audrey Hepburn and Marlene Dietrich to the sleek, skinny jeans seen on Nicki Minaj, Kid Cudi and every Kardashian, clothes from the House of Balmain have long been mainstays in celebrity wardrobes.
The son of a dressmaker and a drapery salesman, Balmain's founder was born in 1914 in southeastern France and formed an interest in fashion at an early age. His mother wanted her son to be an architect — but the principles of design and structure that Pierre learned in his brief studies at the École des Beaux Arts served him well throughout his career.
Balmain was among the first to offer French looks to the American market. Since the death of the founder in 1982, the design reins at the company have been handed to luminaries such as Oscar de la Renta and Olivier Rousteing, an alum of Roberto Cavalli who was installed as creative director at the label in 2011.
Today’s Balmain has more in common with the master’s original haute couture than you might expect: sharply tailored blazers that nip in at the waist, delicate stilettos and ultra-feminine evening dresses are wardrobe basics for the 21st-century woman, too. Lovers of couture history will also prize the fluid, easy sketches from the master’s own hand they’ll find on offer here, while fashionistas clamor for the brand’s t-shirts, military-style jackets and skinny jeans.
Whether you’re a colonel in Rousteing’s “glamour army” or you fancy yourself a “Jolie Madame,” a Balmain piece — from the 1960s or even last season — will add a bold, sexy note to your look. Daytime or night, Balmain feels right now.
Find vintage Pierre Balmain dresses, skirts, scarves and other garments and accessories on 1stDibs.
Pierre Balmain Paris 346 Zig Zag
By Pierre Balmain
Located in Bristol, CT
Original Pierre Balmain (1914-1982) couture fashion hand-coloured plate with 3 fabric swatches attached designed for New York society icon Nan Kempner (1930-2005) circa 1970s Plate ...
Fabric
$1,125
H 23.63 in W 17.72 in D 1.19 in
Strange woman III - Contemporary, Nude, Yellow, Blue, Female, Figurative Art
By Alexandru Rădvan
Located in Baden-Baden, DE
Strange women III, 2015 Acrylic on canvas pad 23.62 H x 17.71 W in. 60 H x 45 W cm "Strange women" is a cycle of eight canvases, each representing a fem...
Canvas, Acrylic
$5,200
H 24.75 in W 32.75 in D 1.5 in
"Beach Scene with Figures and Sailboats" Impressionistic Oil Painting in Holland
Located in New York, NY
A wonderfully rich beach scene done in Zandvoort Holland in the Mid-20th Century depicting figures in the sand. Some figures are by the water with sailboats as kids play in the dista...
Oil, Canvas
$19,500
H 34.5 in W 46.5 in D 3 in
Jim Rey b.1938. CA/CO artist. Oil on canvas, "Watching the Wild Ones" 24 x 36
Located in Basalt, CO
Jim Rey b. 1939. Original oil on canvas painting with custom frame. 24 x 36 canvas size. This work was painted in 2004, at a most expressive time in Rey's career. From the art...
Canvas, Oil
$2,500
H 47.64 in W 63.39 in D 1.97 in
Farmer with Horses and Cows, Oil on Canvas, English School, 1888
Located in Stockholm, Stockholm
This large engaging oil on canvas by Thomas Tom Mitchell, signed and dated Tom Mitchell 1888, captures an amusing yet dynamic moment in rural life. At its heart is a horse breeder in...
Canvas, Oil
$4,200
H 26.25 in W 34 in D 1.5 in
"Beach Scene with Figures" Impressionistic Oil Painting on Canvas in Amsterdam
Located in New York, NY
A wonderfully rich beach scene from the mid-20th Century, depicting figures in the sand, set in Holland. Some figures are by the water as children play in the distance with a bicycli...
Oil, Canvas
$895
H 15.25 in W 12.25 in D 2 in
Vintage Outsider Oil Painting -- Campfire Cookout Seaside Landscape, Signed
Located in Soquel, CA
Colorful vintage primitive landscape with figures gathering wood to feed a campfire with a white-capped ocean and mountains covered in snow in the distance by W. Dunn (American, 20th Century). Signed "W. Dunn" lower left. Displayed in a vintage honey oak...
Canvas, Oil, Cardboard
$14,211
H 86.62 in W 98.43 in D 3.94 in
Remembering a Great Love - Contemporary, Fire, Prometheus, Couple, Nude, Myth
By Alexandru Rădvan
Located in Baden-Baden, DE
Remembering a Great Love, 2019 Acrylic on canvas 82 43/64 H x 94 31/64 W in. 210 H x 240 W cm "Remembering a Great Love" is a reinterpretation of the fundamental myth of Pygmalion. ...
Canvas, Acrylic
Trio à Cordes.
By Arman
Located in Östermalm, Stockholms län
Unique artwork This work is recorded in the Arman Studio Archives New York under number: APA# 1001.87.013. The painting was executed by Arman at a happening at Malmö Konserthus for t...
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
$6,847
H 33.5 in W 26.5 in D 3.25 in
19th Century genre portrait oil painting of a girl with a writing slate
By Charles Sillem Lidderdale
Located in Nr Broadway, Worcestershire
Charles Sillem Lidderdale British, (1831-1895) The Scholar Oil on canvas, signed with monogram & dated (18)94 Image size: 26.5 inches x 19.5 inches Size including frame: 33.5 inche...
Canvas, Oil
$1,125
H 23.63 in W 17.72 in D 1.19 in
Strange women V - Contemporary, Nude, Female, Sun, Orange, Red, Figurative Art
By Alexandru Rădvan
Located in Baden-Baden, DE
Strange women V, 2015 Acrylic on canvas pad 23.62 H x 17.71 W in. 60 H x 45 W cm "Strange women" is a cycle of eight canvases that represents a female b...
Canvas, Acrylic
$1,125
H 23.63 in W 17.72 in D 1.19 in
Strange women - Contemporary, Orange, Nude, Couple, Figurative
By Alexandru Rădvan
Located in Baden-Baden, DE
Strange women VI, 2015 Acrylic on canvas pad 23.62 H x 17.71 W in. 60 H x 45 W cm "Strange women" is a cycle of eight canvases that represents a female ...
Canvas, Acrylic
$1,125
H 23.63 in W 17.72 in D 1.19 in
Strange women IV - Contemporary, Nude, Female, Pink, Twisted, Figurative Art
By Alexandru Rădvan
Located in Baden-Baden, DE
Strange women IV, 2015 Acrylic on canvas pad 23.62 H x 17.71 W in. 60 H x 45 W cm "Strange women" is a cycle of eight canvases that represents a female ...
Canvas, Acrylic