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
$685
H 10.63 in W 7.68 in D 0.04 in
Figurative Ink Painting N.1 'Vessels' by Dmitry Samygin
By Dmitry Samygin
Located in Paris, FR
Figurative Ink on Cotton paper Painting N.1 'Vessels' by Dmitry Samygin H.27 x 19.5 cm About Dmitry Samygin Furniture and Product Designer. His approach relies on simple forms and clarity in ideas with carefully chosen materials to expose the essence of an object. His products exemplify humanistic design, comfort in everyday use and ergonomic function. He is a prize-winner in international competitions. He has taken part in exhibitions in Paris, Milan and Moscow, collaborates with European and Russian production, architectural and design companies. Since 2021 Dmitriy's design has been presented in a permanent exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Moscow. Dmitry's graphics and designs are in private collections all over the world. Samygin's Awards 2023 I+D / Design Now / winner (product design & decor) 2021 Red dot / Modul 2021 I+D magazine award / Shelter (covers for the sculptures of Moscow State Architectural Museum) 2020 Best 2020 AD Russia 2019 Andrew World...
Cotton, Paper, Ink
$685
H 10.63 in W 7.68 in D 0.04 in
Figurative Ink Painting N.2 'Vessels II' by Dmitry Samygin
By Dmitry Samygin
Located in Paris, FR
Figurative Ink on Cotton paper Painting N.1 'Vessels II' by Dmitry Samygin H.27 x 19.5 cm About Dmitry Samygin Furniture and Product Designer. His approach relies on simple forms and clarity in ideas with carefully chosen materials to expose the essence of an object. His products exemplify humanistic design, comfort in everyday use and ergonomic function. He is a prize-winner in international competitions. He has taken part in exhibitions in Paris, Milan and Moscow, collaborates with European and Russian production, architectural and design companies. Since 2021 Dmitriy's design has been presented in a permanent exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Moscow. Dmitry's graphics and designs are in private collections all over the world. Samygin's Awards 2023 I+D / Design Now / winner (product design & decor) 2021 Red dot / Modul 2021 I+D magazine award / Shelter (covers for the sculptures of Moscow State Architectural Museum) 2020 Best 2020 AD Russia 2019 Andrew World...
Cotton, Paper, Ink
$9,141
H 22.84 in W 19.69 in D 3.15 in
Aeneas Fleeing the Burning of Troy, 17th Century Flemish Oil on Canvas Painting
Located in Firenze, IT
This oil painting on canvas, created by an artist from the 17th Century Flemish School, depicts one of the most significant scenes from Greco-Roman mythology: Aeneas saving his famil...
Canvas, Oil
$39,994
H 27.56 in W 35.44 in D 1.97 in
View on the Governor’s Palace in Paramaribo, Surinam
Located in Amsterdam, NL
GOVERT VAN EMMERIK (1808-1882) View on the Governor’s Palace in Paramaribo, Surinam Signed and dated 1856 Oil on canvas, 70 x 90 cm In large gilt...
Canvas, Oil
$17,140
H 26.38 in W 42.13 in D 1.58 in
Evening prayers by fishermen under the high coast of Celebes
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Jacob Eduard Van Heemskerck Van Beest (1828-1894) “Avondgebed; Maleidische tripang visschers onder de hoge kust van Celebes” (Ev...
Canvas, Oil
The port of Collioure
By Achille Laugé
Located in BELEYMAS, FR
Achille LAUGÉ (Arzens 1861 – Cailhau 1944) The Port of Collioure Pastel on paper laid down on canvas H. 38 cm; W. 55 cm Provenance annotations on the reverse Circa 1926–29 Unsigned ...
Canvas, Pastel, Laid Paper
$22,854
H 21.46 in W 18.12 in
Presumed Portrait of Jean-Jacques-Blaise Baloin de Belvèse, Baron de Vennac
Located in BELEYMAS, FR
Marianne Loir (Paris 1705 – Paris 1783) Presumed Portrait of Jean-Jacques-Blaise Baloin de Belvèse, Baron de Vennac (?-1781) Oil on oval canvas H. 54.5 cm; W. 46 cm Unsigned Grandda...
Canvas, Oil
$15,997
H 27.29 in W 19.57 in
Christ as Salvator Mundi, Circle Van Dyck, Flemish Old Master, Christ Child
By Anthony van Dyck
Located in Greven, DE
The Christ Child as Redeemer of the World Oil on Canvas, 69.3 x 49.7 cm Provenance Private Collection, Belgium The present painting is known in different versions. One of them is ...
Canvas, Oil
The Wave
By George Romney
Located in London, GB
Oil on canvas 33 x 48 ½ inches; 840 x 1235 mm Painted c. 1793 Collections: George Romney; By descent to Elizabeth Romney (1832-1893), the artist’s granddaughter; Romney sale, Chris...
Canvas, Oil
$13,712
H 24.02 in W 28.75 in
Circle of Maratta, Maria and Child, Madonna, Christ, Antique Frame, Old Master
By Workshop Of Carlo Maratta
Located in Greven, DE
Circle of Maratta, Maria and Child, in a Roman 18th century hand carved and gilded wooden frame, uncut Images of the Virgin and Child were for centuries the most common subject for Christian religious...
Canvas
$5,713
H 67.33 in W 53.55 in D 2.37 in
Italian Oil on Canvas Painting Coat of Arms in Gold Leaves Panel and Black Frame
Located in Firenze, IT
This huge Italian 19th century armorial painting features the coat of arms of Montini, a noble Italian family that has among its ancestors the Archbishop of Milan, later known as Pope Paul VI. The large oval canvas has a brown and red background, the latter shaped like a shield, in which six mountains (from the etymology of the surname) and three white fleur de lis are painted. This big scale palatial oil painting...
Oil, Canvas, Wood
Sawah Landscape
Located in Amsterdam, NL
A sawah landscape, Sumatra Signed and dated 'Sonnega '54' (lower right), and annotated 'Voor Jan de Bas 1-1-1970 / R de Bas' (on the reverse) oil on canvas, 50,5x60,5 cm Provenance: - Collection Pieter de Bas (1909-1979) Mr de Bas was head of the MULO school and acting head of the HBS school in Medan. Thence by descent to the present owner. Exhibited: - Hotel de Boer, Medan 1954, where acquired by the first owner. The light I observed everywhere was of a special quality, fluorescent blue, shone from nowhere but radiated from every point, oddly with great depth and intensity. The light in an entirely different dimension came from nowhere and went nowhere shimmering with the glow of a bright blue jewel. The most important thing I discovered was of being omnipresent and able to understand everything at the same time, yes I could fathom creation completely. Auke Sonnega, born March 9, 1910 in Leeuwarden, known as the painter, primarily of young Balinese men and women. Originally raised in the reformed denomination, the parents of Auke apparently practised theosophy and their children, including Auke were taught these principles. The talent for drawing revealed itself at an early stage which in 1926 lead to a 4-year study of textile design at the Academy for Art and Craft in Amsterdam. He completed the academy in 1930 and worked in a carpet factory in Twente until 1934 and then followed in his sister Aafje’s footsteps leaving the Netherlands to go to the Dutch East Indies where in 1935 he started working as a graphic designer with an advertising bureau in Batavia. He was able to travel through Java and Bali on the motorbike that he brought with him from Europe, and was paid for his travelogue, enhanced with his own photo’s which appeared in several Dutch newspapers and magazines. In the 1930’s two Europeans, Walter Spies and Rudolf Bonnet...
Canvas, Oil