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Archive1 October 2026

Pierre Balmain, 1945: the house at 44 rue François 1er, the Lelong years beside Dior, an Amsterdam show in 1951, Queen Sirikit

Pierre Balmain (@balmain) founded his house in 1945 at 44 rue François 1er, the address Balmain keeps as its Paris flagship, after the war years at Lucien Lelong where Christian Dior (@dior) was a fellow assistant. The photograph is from the Dutch national archive: a Balmain show at the Victoria Hotel in Amsterdam on 8 April 1951, when the house was already showing outside France. Queen Sirikit of Thailand commissioned her wardrobe for a 1960 state visit to the United States from him. He died on 29 June 1982. The creative directors since: Erik Mortensen, Oscar de la Renta, Christophe Decarnin, Olivier Rousteing (@olivier_rousteing) from 2011 to 2025, and Antonin Tron, whose second womenswear show for the house walked in Paris on 30 September 2026. Mayhoola, the Qatari investment firm, has owned Balmain since 2016. Photo: Daan Noske for Anefo, Nationaal Archief, CC0.

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The post, as it ran

01PIERRE BALMAIN OPENED HIS HOUSE IN 1945 AT 44 RUE FRANÇOIS 1ER IN PARIS, THE ADDRESS BALMAIN STILL WORKS FROM.
02HE HAD SPENT THE WAR YEARS AT LUCIEN LELONG, DESIGNING ALONGSIDE ANOTHER ASSISTANT WHO WOULD OPEN HIS OWN HOUSE IN 1946: CHRISTIAN DIOR.
03BY 1951 THE HOUSE WAS SHOWING ABROAD. THIS IS A BALMAIN SHOW IN AMSTERDAM'S VICTORIA HOTEL ON 8 APRIL 1951, PHOTOGRAPHED FOR THE DUTCH PRESS AGENCY ANEFO.
04IN 1960 QUEEN SIRIKIT OF THAILAND HAD HIM DESIGN HER WARDROBE FOR A STATE VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES.
05BALMAIN DIED IN PARIS ON 29 JUNE 1982, AGED 68.
06SINCE THEN: ERIK MORTENSEN, OSCAR DE LA RENTA, CHRISTOPHE DECARNIN, OLIVIER ROUSTEING, AND NOW ANTONIN TRON, WHOSE SECOND COLLECTION WALKED ON 30 SEPTEMBER 2026.
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