Balmain SS14: Shoulder pads, sequins and supermodels

Sugared almond shades have sprinkled the catwalks from New York to Milan so we weren't at all surprised to see them strutting down the catwalk in the plush surroundings of the Hotel Scribe ballroom. Nor were we surprised to see those same hues - lilac, icy blue, spring-chick yellow - encrusted with the most spectacularly shiny diamanté beading and trimmed with bouncing marabou feathers. But a surprise is not what we were looking for - this is Balmain after all, with whose glamazonian oeuvre Olivier Rousteng is so comfortable that he simply updates it each season with a few extra flares. This season there were chain-trimmed denim jackets, pastel pink houndstooth bombers, and skirts that showed a lot less leg than we're used to at Balmain. But if they didn't show leg then they certainly showed off bum: cut tight on the buttocks with bouncing flounces beneath to highlight even the smallest wiggle, they were super sexy and will certainly raise temperatures on the dance floor next summer.