Hi Vogue!
I missed you guys. Come on in! Welcome to my place
and welcome to this new episode of Vlogue, the series where we decipher fashion
from every angle. I'm so excited for today's episode. We've been hoping to do this for a long time, because today the Balmain team
and Olivier Rousteing are taking us backstage at… a fashion show during Fashion Week! I'm Balmainizing and let's go! Welcome to the backstage of Balmain. We're getting a runway look. The magic is coming out of here. Are you sure this is really stable? – Is that how your interview at Balmain went?
– Not at all! What? The fashion show is in 45 minutes.
This is fashion. There is a code on the door handle, which means that we're arriving
in the chamber of secrets. Not Harry Potter's, but Olivier Rousteing's. Come on. Hello! You're already back from Los Angeles? – Just for you.
– Check! Léna, nice to meet you, and I brought my camera. Nice to meet you. I've been interning at Balmain for two days. – For 11 years.
– For 11 years. I was just going over the contract. Welcome, welcome to the studio. – How many days until the show?
– 13 days. Where are we now? – In a big building in Paris.
– Yeah. – Everything is centralized here?
– Yeah. That means you work right next to your team? Yes, exactly.
We'll take a quick tour later.
Now we're in the fitting room. You use the lexicon. Why is it called a fitting room? For example, let's take this dress. You see, we're probably going
to make this part longer. We're pinning the shoulders.
We're working on it. We're probably going to shorten the dress
so that she walks more easily. That's what we call a little bit of fiddling. You see something wrong with it?
I think it's already beautiful. What else can we add? I'm going to make it a bit longer because I think the proportion
is still a bit skewed. And I'm going to make her walk
more easily in this dress, because it's very heavy, it's chainmail.
Oh yes, he didn't lie.
It's indeed chainmail. No, I didn't lie. You're telling me
that there are 900 pieces for the show? Yeah, we're at about 900 pieces,
between men and women. Before, there weren't
that many collections a year. True. – Now, how many collections a year are there?
– I'm up to six or seven. Is this what it looks like when you present it? Yeah, I present them like this
to all my pattern makers. Do you ever present something and they say:
"Oh no, it's not possible"? Yes, it happens often. – Very often.
– And what do you say? I say, "What was I thinking?" Okay, so it's about motorcycles, right? It's about protection,
motorcycle and strength.
Are we going to see models
riding motorcycles on the runway? Not exactly, I must say,
but we'll have a big surprise. We're actually going to close
with the Balmain couture. Oh yes! But then, what's the point? Are you allowed to have couture pieces
in the ready-to-wear shows, from men to women? – Or you don't care?
– We don't care. We revolutionize, we do what we want. – I love it!
– Who said we can't do it? That's really a work in progress. – Is the dress in 3D?
– Yes. The corset is missing. There is a lot of work on it. And the huge tutu
that's going to come in there is also missing. Okay. – So, it's a work in progress.
– Yes! Do you take care
of both the clothes and the show? Yes, I take care of the show. But I have a great team, La Mode en Images, and I’m ultimately
the decision maker at the end.
But sometimes the ideas
come from an incredible team. You don't just design clothes,
you design a universe. I'm going to show you
how we create the embroidery, because it's all done by computer. So, all those dresses are embroidered dresses. And these are the pieces that we take out, the samples that come from France,
Italy, India, from all countries. And then, from a sample,
we start to create these dresses. For example, this dress…
Can you come, Assetou? I don't know if you can see through the camera, but Balmain embroidery is not just a little bead,
there is always a kind of three-dimensionality, – some kind of volume.
– Yes, it's important.
This dress was actually designed
with Photoshop. – Okay.
– And then, it became this. And which dress is going to close the show? When do I get all my dresses? Let's say Sunday. I might be able to answer you
on Sunday afternoon. In the fashion world, we put a lot of importance
on the first and last outfit, right? Yeah. And among the models,
and I ask you the question too, is there this hierarchy
of the first and last outfit? A bit, yes. I can't say otherwise. When we follow your stories,
you always show us the office life, you show us your teams
and you always have a word for them. And sometimes we think
that there is only the artistic director, the designer, behind a house. But there are so many people
working on a fashion show and we're going to try to put them
in the spotlight with this video… Do you want us to go and meet my team? – Come on, let's go!
– With pleasure.
But what is this? It's a metal dress. These are metal plates. I'll introduce you to the person who made it. Great! Welcome to the backstage of Balmain. The magic comes out of here.
This is Balmain magic. Let me introduce you to Stéphanie,
Valérie, and Carine, who made this dress. – Bravo!
– The sketch is over there. And you made it from this? Yes, but at the same time, she knew right away
that she'd have to work with metal plates. And where do you get the plates? On plates.com? Plates.com, awesome! You'll see, my stylists,
who are upstairs, work with me, they're a great team
and they help me find the biggest workshops. – Okay, so it's not plates.com.
– We have a lot of great artisans. Are you always working under stress? I feel like in fashion,
you always go last minute, – like you love the excitement.
– I hate stress. – Oh yeah?
– And I hate last minute. We'll be ready in three or four days, so that's good,
we'll have eight days before the show.
Hi everyone, this is Léna. Nice to meet you. Hello. Is everyone working on the show? Everyone is working on the show. There's a bit of men's collection
and a bit of women's collection. Bruno, let me introduce you to Léna
and the whole Vlogue team. Sony. Hello! This is what we call the cutting table. Here you have all the dresses' little pieces.
Okay. Do the pattern makers do this? Yeah, the pattern makers that you saw just now. The collections are growing,
we have a lot of them, six collections a year. Now we're doing to the accessories office. So, I introduce you to the bag geniuses. And I arrive with my big clogs and my cameras. We have Léna here
and thanks to her, the office is clean. Wait a minute, is that a sneaker bag? Yes, it is. Oh my God! It's really about the literal meaning of the thing.
– I love it!
– You carry your sneaker. It's actually pretty playful. What is more important: bags or shoes? Your models were barefoot. Yes, right. So, bags can be more important than shoes. But now you have to go ask
the shoe department. Yeah, let's go ask them. He walks so fast! Cardio time! Meet Léna! Hello! Nice to meet you. We were wondering what is the most important thing in a look:
shoes or bag? There is no question…
well, it's quickly answered. That's what we were saying.
We agree, it's the shoes. Shoes are the most important thing.
You can't do a look without shoes. What do they call you here? Lucien, how do you… Lucien, can you turn around? Take your mask off.
What did you call me last time? Olivier.
No, I don't think so. Because sometimes I call him big Lulu,
he called me little Olive. Little Olive! When you’re angry,
do they call you: "Yes, Mr. Rousteing"? Mauran calls me
"Yes, Monsieur Rousteing" all the time. Literally? It doesn't seem like it. He doesn't give a damn! It's crazy to have an office energy like that. You guys look like you really like each other. We love each other.
Look, they even bought a fridge. We even have a fridge with champagne in it. You don't have to say what's in it. Are you working or not? Not at all. I love it, they say "not at all". Come on, now I'll show you
the ready-to-wear style office. Okay. It's a hell of a workout every day
going up and down. Absolutely. And with these shoes… – Olivier, this is ready-to-wear?
– Yes.
Well, for me, it's couture. Yeah, but let's say
that this is just leather for me. So it's not… It's not couture yet. – Couture, you'll see it…
– Ready-to-wear at Balmain be like. This was Beyoncé's bodysuit. It was her bodysuit. – Hi, nice to meet you.
– This is Léna. What does being a stylist in a house mean? Being open for Olivier's craziness
because there's nothing small here. Everything is like… we're trying to make dreams come true and Olivier is teaching us that
in a very efficient and a very strong way. And then, we're trying to feed Olivier
with images, inspiration… working towards the direction
of getting a collection out. This is my office. Hello. Hello. – I’m Olivier Rousteing.
– Nice to meet you. What do you think you can bring
to the house of Balmain? A little creativity, I think.
Oh! You're hired. Thank you all, you start now. – Is that how your interview at Balmain went?
– Not at all. It was a bit harder. How do you feel 13 days before the show? Stressed. Because I'm a bit scared. I hope it will be a success.
I hope that people will like it. I make believe that I'm cool,
but it's boiling inside. To tell us a bit about your show, after 11 years, do you feel comfortable
talking about yourself through clothes, telling your story, your autobiography? Yeah, I think you're right,
every show becomes more and more me. As I always say, I was the Balmain baby,
and now Balmain is my baby, – when I started at 24 years old.
– It's beautiful.
It's true, I was really a baby, I was like… biting my nails,
I was hoping to please everybody. And now it's kind of my responsibility. Is the Balmain Army ready? I think we're ready, but we dropped the guns. Back when I was with Rihanna, in 2014, when we did the campaign together, in 2013, I really needed us to have the guns and say, "We're fighting for inclusivity, diversity,
opening the doors of fashion." And I think the bet is won today. Not completely yet, but I don't feel the need
to go into battle as much, because I see that some of the things
I said back then are being heard.
So, the Balmain Army is getting softer. I've softened too, I think.
Maybe it's maturity. The Balmain show is just one day away and we also have access
to the construction of the show. As we said, Fashion Week is a team effort
and you'll see that we have quite a team building nails, music, light, screens. We have access to the backstage. And we are at the Carreau du Temple. It's a very nice space. Ooh, we've got some carpet here! Hello! – Alex?
– Yes, nice to meet you. Léna, nice to meet you too. – Thanks for having us.
– My pleasure. When the place is empty, what is there?
What did you add? When the place is empty,
like you said, it's completely empty. – Oh yeah?
– There's nothing there. So right now, the decorating crews
are putting up fences over there.
Everything you see around has been added. The rows of seats… The lights too? The lights too. Everything. – I almost fell.
– Careful, don't hurt yourself. It's amazing. It's really like a cartoon. – Look at that.
– Maybe there'll be a live accident. – How long have you been working on it?
– Construction started on the 26th. One week of construction work
for only 15 minutes of showtime. Yes, this is fashion. They are the ones who will see the models walk. This camera is the most important one,
the one you’re in front of. This one is the most important? It's the most important one
because it's going to show the model at the back, over there.
Don't make fun of me, okay? Ah, it stresses me out! No, they look straight at the cameras. And they don't smile. – Ah, they don't smile.
– Rarely. And then you turn. That's it. They created steps. – Instead of…
– Yeah, it's too high. – You were like, "let's make a little step"?
– Exactly, we think of you. – You think of everything.
– We think of everybody. I'll be right there. Are you sure this is stable? – Is this dual-sided?
– Yes. You trust the dual-sided.
Let's stretch it a bit. Yeah, let's stretch it a bit. It's so much work.
It's an arm workout. I know my help was essential
and you really couldn't have done it without me, so thank goodness I came here. I had a bunk bed when I was little. You can tell, right? That's where the models go through. They actually come in like this,
they come out like this, and then they go to the arena. You notice there's a whole vocabulary:
line up, arena.
– Well…
– In Balmain, they don't talk like we do. Actually, the line up is right behind this wall. I'll show you exactly where it is. This is what we'll call the model prep area. Basically, when they get there,
they start walking, they start getting into the rhythm
so that when they get to the audience, they're really ready. Hello! This is the topper's post. The topper is the person who is giving the go, and therefore who is going
to send the models one by one. Here, they have a big screen in which we will put
the different cameras of the show so that they can see what is happening on stage,
and therefore send the models or not, to keep coherence between the gaps
of the models and so on. – I have a quick question.
– Yeah, tell me. Did you make me wear a helmet to make fun of me?
Because nobody is wearing a helmet.
You don't need to wear it here. Marine is going to do the production
that goes out on all social media and on the Balmain website, etc. From here, basically, she sees all the cameras
and she decides which ones she puts online. And here is the video station, that is to say that a technician
will get all the cameras and make sure that the colorimetry
is the same between all the cameras. In other words, they make the image pretty. I'm leaving Alex. – Okay.
– And I'm meeting Jérémy. Let's go to the fitting area. Should I keep the helmet? Thanks. Well, is this another Balmain? This is our showroom. Okay. Over there, they're doing fittings
and that's where we keep the mystery. They're making the last touch-ups
before the show. I don't want to be spoiled,
I don't want to spoil you, and Olivier stays focused.
Let's go and choose an outfit. Hello Léna. Hello! Goodbye, Jérémy. Hello Miguel. I'm going from man to man… well, no, it sounds weird
when you say it like that! Where are we now? We’re in the fitting room. Okay. Here, we do fittings with VIPs
and people who come to see the shows. – So only VIPs come here?
– Only VIPs come here. Okay. Wow! We can start, I'm all yours. – Maybe we can start with this one?
– We can start with this one. Me? No, I don't have time for you, sorry. Shall I try another one? This one? That one? Simon, behind the camera, what do you think? – Honestly, the one before.
– The one before? You see that it's shining, right? – Yes.
– Okay.
I think I prefer the nude one,
but I really like the first one, because it's kind of funny. – Funny?
– It's very Jared Leto. It's British, it's royal. The last one. Ah, that's tough! It's a game changer. What do we do? Thank you for your emotional support. Thank you. And for helping me choose
my outfit for tomorrow. Things always look better in the morning,
especially when it comes to fashion, so we'll see which outfit I'll wear tomorrow. Play suspenseful music. Which dress will Léna wear tomorrow? And you, don't go anywhere, see you soon! It is the third day of the Fashion Week.
We’re Wednesday, March 3,
and the Balmain show is today. The sky is blue, the mood is good
and the show is in six hours. Here is a little to-do list: the screen is not set up yet,
we're still vacuuming, the models have not arrived,
the clothes are not there, the dancers are not dressed, there are a few pictures being taken there
and they have to do it all in six hours. Let's go see the dancers. Is there going to be a dance performance? There will be a dancing intro. So, before the models come on stage,
you're the first people we'll see tonight? Yes. How long have you been working on this? I was called to work on this project a month ago,
and I work according to Olivier's inspiration. There is a very internal reflection
about the dance that you’re going to perform, but always in relation with what Olivier
has done with the clothes. – Yes.
– Now you're going to get dressed? What is your schedule today? I'm teaching them the choreography.
– They don't know it?
– No. What? But the show is in six hours! – Yes, but it's okay.
– This is the third time. Look, I'm calm. – You're not nervous?
– No. I don't want to convey my stress to you, but… No, don't worry. It's not very clear, but it's all there. – This is your choreography?
-It's great. I can't believe you guys
are going to learn it now. It's crazy. Good luck!
I'm sending you lots of good vibes. What do you say to dancers?
Break a leg? – Break a leg.
– Break a leg? – Toï toï toï.
– Toï toï toï? – Yes, toï toï toï.
– Well, toï toï toï then. We're not going to mess the carpet up,
so let's use shoe covers.
It's a new trend. Vogue, what do you think? How are you feeling? – Good and you?
– I feel good. We saw the whole team, they're so great. – We saw the dancers, they're so beautiful.
– They're hot, they're here. Despite all that,
everyone seems to be very relaxed and very calm. Welcome to the world of Balmain. – Are you happy?
– Yes, I'm so happy. – It's going to be great.
– It's ready? – Yes, it is.
– Did you get some sleep? Yeah, I slept eight hours, I think. – Wow!
– I'm very happy. And what will you do after the show?
Sleep again? Seriously? See you! Bye, good luck. I feel like there's something going on there, something about content creation,
a big camera going around, let's go check it out.
Hi, how are you? You're going to have the camera about your waist,
it's going to come up, so you can look up at the camera. – Then it goes down, so it's very simple.
– Okay. Three, two, one. And action! Action! There is some activity
in the hair and makeup department. Look at that. Four of them are styling extensions. In the morning, at my place, it's the same. Same thing! For a fashion show makeup, the makeup creative director makes face charts
and draws the outfit the models will wear. Once they have made the drawings,
a team is formed and each makeup artist and each hairdresser
will try to reproduce this look.
That's why we say it's a team effort, because it's not about one makeup artist,
it's about 30 people doing makeup and hair. – Hi Jamal!
– Hi! This is where a lot happens. Can you tell me what exactly is your job? Our job, specifically with Balmain, is always about making sure that the makeup exemplifies what he’s trying to tell through the clothes. In this season, without giving away too much, there’s a bit of a sporty element to it. So we really wanted to make sure that the skin looks really fresh and beautiful.
The casting is really new and fresh, so we really wanted to make sure that we highlight the girls and their beautiful skin without masking it, with a little bit of highlight on the skin. So not a huge coverage. No, it’s all about finding the individuality of each girl, respecting that and showing that. Each girl has a position in the
show that’s unique and individual to them. I wanted to talk about something else, which I think is very important and really showcasing through the beauty, is how now fashion is trying to be more diverse. I think as a whole, there’s still a lot of work to be done with inclusivity in the beauty industry, but what’s amazing about Olivier is that he’s always been very true to his own casting, and his casting has always been very organic and has always had
a mixture of ethnicities, sizes. Last season, we had legendary Naomi Campbell and we had young girls like Adut, we had girls that were curvy, we had girls that were very thin.
So, it’s always been very diverse with Balmain. So the industry should take some notes from mister Olivier. – Thank you for your time.
– Thank you so much. I’m going to enjoy the calm before the storm. Enjoy the calm girl, get a drink, see some of the fashion because once it starts, it’s like non-stop. This is calm! Unbelievable! Thank you very much. Thanks. The models are starting to arrive. They don't know what they're going
to look like in terms of makeup and hair. They go through skin care first, then they get their makeup done,
and then their hair.
And then there's the nails and, for those who have open-toed shoes,
the pedicure. All of that for each of the girls. About 40 people do the makeup,
80 models are going to walk, women and men, and everything is going to happen here. You can feel the work energy here.
You can feel that it starting to grow. At least, I can feel it. Welcome at my place. The show starts in an hour. In fact, I think of Fashion Week
as a big costume party for a week and every night it's a new costume. My hair grew in an hour. I used castor oil, and only castor oil. Lights, camera and action! Big prod. One package, one tripod, one TikTok. Hi guys, hope you're doing well. Today we're getting dressed
for the Balmain fashion show, because I'm not going
in my Simpsons jogging outfit, even though I love it.
We're getting a runway look. The fashion show is in 45 minutes,
I'm very nervous. My makeup is done and I'm going to go change. Will you marry me, dear Olivier? My outfit for the Balmain fashion show. We chose the nude dress,
with this very nice trench, for a more chic, Vogue feel. The show starts in 30 minutes. We’re very late. During Fashion Week,
you find yourself saying crazy things: did you glue my panties? Is my wrist tanned enough? Those are phrases don't exist
outside of Fashion Week. I'm not going to lie to you, I'm very nervous. I spent the whole week with them and I saw all the work that is behind
and the number of people behind.
I hope everything goes well for them,
that's the main thing. But it's not me right now, it's another person. My alter ego is going to come back,
take some pictures and then I'll be the goofball that you know. Léna Mahfouf is invited to the presentation
of the fall-winter 2022-2023 collections on Wednesday, March 2 at 8:30 pm. It is currently 8:30 pm. We're running late, but in the fashion business,
nothing starts on time.
So, we are told 8:30 pm so we arrive at 9 pm. Kind of like when you're at summer camp and the supervisors tell you
to get there at a certain time because they know
you're all going to be a half hour late. It's the same idea. Fashion people are as distracted
as kids in summer camp, I think. Guys, there's so much traffic,
we're going to get out and walk, because look at that. Léna! The hair in your stories, is it yours? Yes, I bought it, it's mine. Léna! It’s for Vogue. We’re back. Léna, please, to the left. Léna! Thanks, Léna. Thanks, guys, have a great night! There's Serena Williams right there. Hi! Hello! Well done! I feel like I've been through
everything with you.
Really? – Tomorrow at 8 am, I'm coming to the office.
– Are you? I'm your new intern. No, you're not our new intern, you're the boss. – Don't you remember?
– Oh yes, that's right. She sat in my office chair. She doesn't give a damn,
she just wants the picture. Thank you, Olivier. You've been delighting us all week. Bye, Vlogue! That's it, guys, Fashion Week is over. I'm back in my clothes and we're on to my favorite part
of these Vlogue episodes, where it's just you and me, behind the desk, to talk about everything
we learned in this episode. As you've seen, a fashion show is pretty quick.
This one lasted 20 minutes,
which is already a lot compared to the usual. But behind those 20 minutes,
it's not only about the designer, the models or the creations, it's all about the team work
and this family atmosphere we saw at Balmain. In this big family,
we have the pattern makers cutting the fabric, the bag team, the shoe team, the big team of stylists,
the tailors and seamstresses, and the whole team of makeup artists
and hairdressers on the day of the show, without forgetting the craftsmen
who work day and night to build the set. We were 600 there, but behind the screens,
maybe you watched the show live, there were several hundred thousand people, and all this is thanks to the work
of the digital teams. I'm more than grateful
to the Balmain team and Olivier for opening the doors of the house to us
during Fashion Week.
It's a lot of work, it's very stressful
and there's always that bit of exclusivity. In the fashion world, we like to keep secrets
and Olivier was so generous. I swear, we're tearing our hair out
in the editing stage because we have hours and hours of rushes. They showed us everything.
He introduced us to everyone. Really, I swear,
I was smiling so much the whole time that my cheeks hurt. I hope you enjoyed this episode. I hope you learned a few things with us and that the next time you watch a fashion show,
you'll look at it with new eyes. Now, you know what's going on behind the scenes. Maybe I put the nail at the back of the set. Thank you all for watching this episode,
I send you lots of kisses.
Don't hesitate to subscribe
to the Vogue channel. More great episodes are coming your way,
if I may say so myself. And make sure I get my cover for Vogue. Love you!.