Balmain

The waist is decided by the shoulder above it. Womenswear here works from a squared, built-up shoulder line that narrows sharply down the body, and that proportion is what makes a jacket read as constructed rather than simply worn. Pierre Balmain founded the Paris house in 1945 on tailoring, and tailoring is still what the womenswear is measured by.

Embellishment is treated as part of the construction rather than a finish applied at the end. Embroidery, beading and crystal follow the lines the tailoring has already drawn, and buttons are metal and branded rather than plain. Dresses hold their shape with little help from the wearer; knitwear carries the PB monogram, usually jacquard-woven or intarsia-knitted into the cloth; and bags, belts and shoes repeat the same hardware, so an outfit assembled from separate pieces still reads as a single decision.