On July 10 Balmain announced it's taking "BK" fashion worldwide on July 14 with Beychella wear, previewing the collection on July 13 at its Paris flagship outlet. Coming days after The Louvre announced a special art tour, based on her video there with Jay-Z, it might feel like French culture has got her back. The high-fashion brand's creative director Olivier Rousteing put it best, asking and answering, "Why? Because Beyoncé."
"After experiencing that beautiful partnership," said Rousteing after describing their design collaboration for Coachella, "we weren't ready to just walk away without adding one final, perfecting touch. This collection of hoodies and tees, based on key designs from our Coachella efforts, responds to our need to repay an obvious debt for the inspiration we received from the signature spirit and legacy of America's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs)."
His question-and-answer addressed his belief that creating her wardrobe together was one of his most "treasured memories," leading to "those rare, indelible images that I believe will long remain in my generation's collective memory."
Beyoncé's two weekend sets broke YouTube's live streaming record for live music with 458,000 simultaneous views. "What we all saw on those successive Coachella weekends was nothing less than iconic," said Rousteing. We know, but that is recognition coming from high places, "high fashion" that is — haute couture.
