Balmain’s 1945 Soft Bag Puts a Modern Spin on a Coveted Vintage Design

Balmain's newest 1945 soft bag collection

(Image credit: Balmain)

published 1 June 2022

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In 2011, at the young age of 25, Olivier Rousteing became the Creative Director of Balmain's French fashion house, amassing a "Balmain Army" of supporters along the way; Beyoncé, Gigi, and Kim are a few. But backers of Rousteing and the brand are not just devotees of his power blazers, bold body con dresses, and second-skin leather pants. They're champions of Rousteing's representation and determination to fight for more inclusion in the fashion industry as the first Black Creative Director to stand at the helm of a French Fashion house.

While carefully referencing the house's storied fashion archive, Rousteing also set out to reinvent couture's historical exclusivity—his tailoring becomes sultry with open backs and short hemlines, while conservative fabrics like tweed turn edgy with hardware and neon color schemes. His modern interpretations don't stop at clothes. In 2017, Rousteing relaunched Balmain's accessories line with something for everyone: candy-colored clutches for his younger party-going fans and roomy quilted totes for his career-oriented demographic.

Rousteing fans will undoubtedly have a spot for the newest bag drop, too: a collection of 1945 soft bags, which are an ode to the brand's founder, Pierre Balmain, who established the French fashion house in 1945. The design is inspired by a vintage Balmain handbag adorned with a heritage logo "PB" print and hardware inspired by the famous plaque in front of Balmain's Paris flagship. Rousteing calls it a bold yet practical bag to wear every day.

The Balmain 1945 soft is available in synthetic leather, monogram velvet, monogram shearling, and pearl embroideries, in small and medium sizes.

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Balmain 1945 Soft Bag

Sara Holzman is the Style Director for Marie Claire, where she's worked alongside the publication for eight years in various roles, ensuring the brand's fashion content continues to inform, inspire, and shape the conversation about fashion's ever-evolving landscape. With a degree from the Missouri School of Journalism, Sara is responsible for overseeing a diverse fashion content mix, from emerging and legacy designer profiles to reported features on the influence of social media on style and seasonal and micro trends across the world's fashion epicenters in New York, Milan, and Paris. Before joining Marie Claire, Sara held fashion roles at Conde Nast's Lucky Magazine and Self Magazine and was a style and travel contributor to Equinox's Furthermore website. Over her decade of experience in the fashion industry, Sara has helped guide each brand's style point of view, working alongside veteran photographers and stylists to bring editorial and celebrity photo shoots to fruition from start to finish. Sara currently lives in New York City. When she's not penning about fashion or travel, she’s at the farmer’s market, on a run, working to perfect her roasted chicken recipe, or spending time with her husband, dog, and cat. Follow her along at @sarajonewyork

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