Paris Fashion Week: Balmain unveiled festival vibes for its African-inspired spring/summer 2023 collection, with Cher and Ckay performances and Kylie Jenner and Stromae in the crowd

Oct 2, 2022

US singer Cher walks next to French fashion designer Olivier Rousteing as she presents a creation for the Balmain spring/summer 2023 fashion show during the Paris Womenswear Fashion Week, in Paris, on September 28. Photo: AFP

For Balmain’s Paris Fashion Week show on September 28, the brand featured inventive prints and accessories with mythological influences from Olivier Rousteing

Music filled the stadium with Cher singing ‘Strong Enough’ and tunes from Youssou N’Dour and Nigerian star of Afrobeats, Ckay; Kylie Jenner came for the spectacle

French designer Olivier Rousteing pulled out all the stops on September 28 in his latest collection for Balmain at Paris Fashion Week, closing his show with US star Cher on the catwalk.

US model Ashley Graham presents a creation for the Balmain spring/summer 2023 fashion show during the Paris Womenswear Fashion Week, in Paris, on September 28. Photo: AFP

The show began with Cher on a screen, saying: “All of us invent ourselves. Some of us just have more imagination than others.”

A model wears chunky bangles as part of a creation for the Balmain spring/summer 2023 fashion show during the Paris Womenswear Fashion Week, in Paris, on September 28. Photo: AFP

But that was only a teaser before Cher appeared in person with her 1999 hit “Strong Enough” booming around the event at a rugby stadium.

A model presents an African-inspired creation for the Balmain spring/summer 2023 fashion show during the Paris Womenswear Fashion Week, in Paris, on September 28. Photo: AFP

Dubbed the “Balmain Festival”, Rousteing unveiled his designs with clear African influences and mythological references including Apollo and Venus.

Balmain took inspiration from mythological references for its ready-to-wear spring/summer 2023 fashion collection presented on September 28, in Paris. Photo: Invision/AP

A model presents a head-to-toe pink creation for the Balmain spring/summer 2023 fashion show during the Paris Womenswear Fashion Week, in Paris, on September 28. Photo: AFP

A particularly poignant moment during the finale came when black models walked down in a variety of textured dresses, some with the corseted look Rousteing favours and a song by Youssou N’Dour featuring the lyrics: “And when a child is born into this world, it has no concept, of the tone the skin is living in.”