Paris Fashion Week 2023 had not yet started and it had already entered fashion history. On September 16, ten days before the start of the shows, a van containing part of the Balmain collection was attacked and stolen by a gang of armed burglars. Results: around fifty pieces stolen, according to the house’s star stylist, Olivier Rousteing.
A mix of genres between Ocean’s Eleven And The devil wears Prada which does not lack mysteries. Already because this type of haute couture theft remains extremely rare, at least officially. “Houses are usually very discreet on this type of subject,” breathes Sophie Malagola, fashion designer and former collections director at DIM and Etam. Motus and sewn dress. Contacted by us, the Balmain house did not wish to comment on the facts, preferring to let the investigation continue.
Two other cases of this type in twenty years
But even unofficially, the world of luxury rarely crosses paths with that of crime fiction. “That some employees of the houses sometimes steal certain clothes to try to resell them, this exists, but it remains anecdotal. Burglarizing several dozen pieces from a collection, on the other hand, is extremely rare,” says Moïra Cristescu, fashion designer of the eponymous brand.
For twenty years, only two other cases have echoed the current affair, even presenting strange similarities. In 2007, a few days before London Fashion Week, designer Christopher Kane had several pieces from his collection stolen. He will only reveal the theft after the parades. In 2011, the mishap happened again, this time for Marc Jacobs. With two variations: the entire collection is stolen, but this time right after the show. “That these thefts systematically occur a few days before or after a Fashion Week is not a coincidence,” believes Moïra Cristescu. “It’s one of the rare times when burglars are certain that all the pieces are in the same place.”
A loot with a very mysterious future
Christopher Kane’s pieces and those of Marc Jacobs have never been found, opening the door to a second mystery. What’s the point of stealing extremely rare runway pieces? The latter – stolen or not – are rarely intended for sale and serve more to present the spirit of the clothing of the coming season. Clothes that will be more consensual, more wearable, and therefore more… purchasable.
Mystery and gumball, therefore, about the destiny of the Balmain loot. “The resale of these pieces as runway prototypes seems difficult,” says Serge Carreira, lecturer at Sciences Po, specialist in fashion and luxury. Houses are not safe from theft, but this generally concerns products that are easy to sell on the parallel contraband market such as bags, sneakers or sweatshirts. » Quite the opposite of pieces in a collection, especially an Olivier Rousteing collection. Carine Mamou, co-founder of the agency Fashion Light Up and former marketing director of major brands, describes pieces “far from the quiet luxury », understand far from being sober. If the models have not been revealed, imagine in the works of Olivier Rousteing “sculptures, embellishments, stones, embroidery… Clothing therefore visible and very easily identifiable”, importable into public space without attracting attention. ‘attention.
Everyone has their own theory to try to unravel the mystery. If Moïra Cristescu imagines “passionate collectors interested in pieces which have not yet been released and which will perhaps never be released, unique pieces”, Carine Mamou has difficulty believing in this hypothesis: “We are not talking about a work of art. art at a totally inaccessible price without going through contraband. Collectors have the means to buy real pieces without going through that process. »
A hyper-profitable nest egg, or on the contrary, financially disappointing
The co-founder no longer believes in reselling on second-hand luxury sites, such as Monogram or Dépot Vente Luxe. “These sites all feature coin authentication services. » The only hypothesis for her is total counterfeiting. “The stolen parts will be able to be copied, imitated and reproduced. Balmain aims to be a popular and desirable brand, and similar pieces, even counterfeit ones, are of interest.”
Even the value of the loot divides. On the minus side, Serge Carreira believes that “as with works of art, the market value of these stolen pieces can be greatly reduced compared to their real value. » On the plus side, these stolen pieces being totally unique if they are neither reproduced nor intended for trade, their value could on the contrary explode, according to Moïra Cristescu.
“We should ask the thieves themselves!” »
Are Olivier Rousteing’s creations lost forever, like the previous Kane and Jacobs? “I have no idea what will become of them. We would have to ask the thieves themselves!, Serge Carreira definitively renounces. it is likely that they did not know that these were pieces from the parade. Maybe they were thinking of getting their hands on other Balmain products…”
In this ocean of enigmas, one certainty: Balmain has decided to maintain its fashion show this Wednesday evening. Recreating collector’s items a few days after a theft seemed a colossal challenge. But there is no shortage of reasons to believe in it, underlines the lecturer: “Balmain is an established house and has considerable human and financial resources. Obviously, this remains a considerable effort at a busy time for workshops and suppliers. But these were prototypes, which means that these models were already finalized” In the world of haute couture, it is much easier to recover from a theft than to explain it.