Pierre Balmain was one of the outstanding figures of Parisian haute couture. He dressed exceptional women who left their mark on their era, including queens, princesses, movie stars and well-known names in the theatre.
Thorugh his art, he helped spread the idea of luxury al la francaise right across the world. As a great lover of art he was continually inspired by the oldest and most elaborate styles of art in the world — Arab and Mandarin art in particular, both of which featured oversized, stylised, and realistic images of flowers and plants. The arabesque motif was the core of what inspired the creative genuius that Pierre Balmain was. Through all these collections he featured this motif in the lace, embroidery and trimmings of his exquisite dresses and coats.
Known for sophistication and elegance, he said that "dressmaking is the architecture of movement".
Balmain's father, who died when the future designer was 7 years old, was the owner of a wholesale drapery business. His mother and her sisters operated a fashion boutique. After studying at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, he went to work for the fashion designer Edward Molyneux, for whom he worked from 1934 until 1939. He joined Lucien Lelong after World War II and opened his own fashion house in 1945.
Balmain also created perfumes, including Vent Vert (1947), his first successful scent and one of the best-selling perfumes of the late 1940s and early 1950s, Jolie Madame (1953), Ivoire (1979), and Eau d'Amazonie (2006). His first perfume bore his company's address, Elysées 64-83.
Balmain was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Costume Design and won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design for Happy New Year (1980). Additional Broadway theatre credits include costumes for Sophia Loren in The Millionairess (1952) and Josephine Baker for her eponymous 1964 revue. He also was a costume designer for 16 films, including the Brigitte Bardot vehicle And God Created Woman, and designed on-screen wardrobes for the actresses Vivien Leigh and Mae West.
Balmain's 1964 autobiography was titled My Years and Seasons.
His companion was the Danish designer Erik Mortensen, who worked as a designer at Balmain from 1948 until 1991. Also the later very successful Danish fashion designer Margit Brandt worked as a young designer with Pierre Balmain in the early 1960's.
Balmain was mentioned in the 60's hit song "Where do you go to (my lovely)" by Peter Sarstedt.
After studying at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, he went to work for the fashion designer Edward Molyneux.
The couturier opens his shop in Paris at 44 rue Francois 1er.
Pierre Balmain dies in Paris.
Oscar de la Renta takes over as director of Norman Hartnell Haute Couture, Paris.