Ever since Christophe Decarnin, 44, took over as creative director of this flagging French fashion house (in 2005), it's become the label of the supercool. Along with stick-legged fashionistas, like Carine Roitfeld and Dasha Zhukova, Decarnin's legions of celeb fans include Gwyneth Paltrow - who chose a Balmain micro lace dress to make her post-babies comeback - Kate Moss, Lindsay Lohan, Christina Ricci, Kate Hudson, Charlotte Casiraghi, Audrey Tatou, Sarah Jessica Parker and Julia Stegner. In its heyday in the '60s, Balmain was worn by utterly hip, incredibly beautiful women like Ava Gardner, Jane Birkin, Sophia Loren and Brigitte Bardot. Four decades on, it's lured a similar breed i.e. fashion crazies who can pull off Decarnin's skintight, split to the thigh, shorter-than-short hemlines, and can afford sky high price tags (£1,000 for a t-shirt?). Lavish appliqués, beading and embroidery salute Balmain's couture past otherwise Decarnin's inspiration comes from ‘80s glam rockers like Kiss, Billy Idol and Michael Jackson.

By Julia Robson