Breaking: Christophe Decarnin is Out @ Balmain

In this mornings NY Times, Cathy Horyn brought the news to America: as of today Decarnin and Balmain have officially parted ways after 5 years. The label should be announcing a new creative lead in the next week, with Melanie Ward being the front-runner at the time being.

Decarnin may have been absent from Balmain for months now!

Ms. Ward stepped in to lead the finishing touches for the Fall 2011 shows, after Decarnin "hit some kind of personal impasse and lost control of the label," reports Horyn. For the Fall 2011 shows Decarnin was rumored to be at a mental hospital....yikes!


Cathy Horyn's insight into the situation suggested he may have been one of the most pressured designers out there:

"Balmain’s success in the Decarnin years was based on a relatively simple formula of impeccably tailored jackets, tough pants, T-shirts and sexy beaded dresses — all for staggering sums — and Mr. Decarnin may have felt stuck in recent months about his direction. Designers are indeed under a lot of pressure, some of it self-imposed, to create relevant collections. Shy and introverted, with a label that had its admirers and critics, Mr. Decarnin may have been more vulnerable than others to that pressure."

The label will most likely be looking from within for the next creative head. All this while Dior continues to take their time in selecting another creative head after the firing of Galliano.

Decarnin Leaves Balmain-NY Times