Antonin Tron’s New Balmain Is a Minimalist’s Opulent Dream

Inside a warehouse decorated with cloudlike, diaphanous, floor-to-ceiling white curtains, Balmain revealed its new fall 2026 collection. This was creative director Antonin Tron’s debut, after former designer Olivier Rousteing left the house following 14 years at the helm. And one thing was clear: gone are the days of the flashy, maximalist-inspired Balmain. The new era of the brand led by Tron prioritizes soft, understated beauty with a flair for unbridled pops of maximalism—albeit in small doses. Models walked through the dark space at a brisk pace, sporting a Parisian-coded uniform of black leather, draped olive green and chartreuse gowns, and a punchy injection of sparkling (but still subdued) animal print.

Backstage after the show, Tron said his ultimate mission was to convey “minimal opulence,” and that the early midcentury was his biggest reference point. Tron also looked to Balmain’s Old Hollywood roots, riffing on the glammed-up gowns worn by 1950s icons like Sophia Loren and Audrey Hepburn. “The very important thing for me was to establish an emotional connection with the house,” Tron added. “So the first thing I did when I got in was to really look at the archive, especially because Balmain opened the house in 1945, right at the end of the war in France. We tried on two gowns from 1946 and I was shocked how restrained and sensual they were.”

Given Tron’s background, it’s no surprise he’s taking Balmain back to the essentials. At Atlein, his own line which he ran for a decade, he focused on sporty tailoring, bodycon draped dresses, and serene simplicity, always with a twist. In addition to Atlein, Tron spent time at Balenciaga under Nicolas Ghesquière, and recently worked at Saint Laurent with Anthony Vaccarello.

For fall 2026, Tron’s loudest touches came through via the animal prints, which were a key highlight of the collection. “There’s this picture of Balmain’s apartment in Paris, a very bourgeois apartment with this giant zebra skin,” Tron said. Military-inspired coats, pilot jackets, and cutout dresses felt true to the more modern interpretation of the label.

The interesting thing about a brand like Balmain is how much each creative director shapes its aesthetic and audience, whether that’s Rousteing’s celeb-studded front row of military minidresses, Christophe Decarnin’s iconic rock-and-roll denim, or Pierre Balmain’s impeccable old-world allure. We’re only one season in, but with the house’s unique visual history, we can’t wait to see how Tron continues his Balmain journey.