The fashion exhibition Punk: Chaos to Couture might have ended its run at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but fashion s obsession with that unintentionally stylish movement will never subside. Or, at least, that s what the house of Pierre Balmain is betting on for Spring. The design team, which presented its collection in digital format again this season, created a range of layering basics that included lace-up leather leggings for women, tanks with stretched-out armholes for guys, and white jeans for everyone.
If white jeans don t sound very punk, that s because the whole thing was polished up with clean, early-nineties accents. A cutoff black denim mini and fishnet tights, for instance, were matched with a sexy, cool black cropped turtleneck and a white broad-shouldered cotton blazer. An oversize motorcycle jacket was layered over a mini with a cutout neckline—perfect for Cindy Crawford in her Pepsi-girl days. And for the men, a utilitarian white shirt—short sleeves, collarless—was worn with black jeans and the ultimate punk accessory: a studded belt.
A few items—a sweater with a ripped-up collar, a holey sweatshirt—might have taken the theme a bit too far. After all, a real rebel lets that sort of decay happen on its own. But for those with punk in their hearts, not their bank accounts, Pierre Balmain could be the new go-to brand.
