IN the words of Queen Bey, cuff (and cop) it. That is, if you have the budget.
Balmain, a luxury fashion brand that Beyoncé loves, has launched its latest Lion King items.
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The “Balmain X The Lion King” collection features over 20 Disney-inspired designs celebrating the film’s 30th anniversary, from black-and-white sketch jackets to maximalist bags and dresses filled with character art.
Olivier Rousteing, creative director and designer at Balmain, said High Snobriety that he was just a cub when The Lion King sparked his inspiration.
“From the moment I first saw The Lion King when I was nine years old, as an adopted child I felt a parallel with the lonely lion cub creating his own unique and chosen family while searching for the truth about his origins,” he said.
Rousteing explained that his desire to create an authentic connection to his African culture aligned perfectly with his vision for the collection.
The French designer, whose parents are originally from Somalia and Ethiopia, collaborated with African artists on the artworks in the collection.
“We traveled to Africa to film the beautiful campaign and it was a dream come true,” Rousteing told Highsnobriety.
“After years of studying, celebrating and loving the great diversity of cultures, landscapes and artistic traditions of Africa, it was a true honor to be here with the amazing Balmain and Disney teams to celebrate this labor of love.”
Work, especially work done out of love, often comes with a high price tag.
The selling price of the pieces is not for the faint of heart: prices start at $550.
a relaxed t-shirtFeaturing a print designed by artist Enfant Précoce, it will cost fans $790.
a cerulean blue sweater with a print designed by African artist Cassius Khumalo is more than double that at $1,590.
Other pieces include $8,000 dresses, including a two-tone zebra sequin dressand $3,000 bags like the B-Buzz Dynasty bag designed by Précoce.
Balmain, a regular collaborator for megastar Beyoncé, previously took creative charge of her projects.
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The brand co-created Beyoncé’s couture collection inspired by her album Renaissance, which was released in 2022.
However, the relationship between the two goes back even further.
Beyoncé also relied on hundreds of outfits from the designer for her 2018 Coachella headline show, making history as the first black woman to headline the iconic festival.
“Beyoncé, her stylist Marni Senofonte and I worked closely for weeks to perfect this collaboration, yes, and I loved every second of it,” Rousteing said. said at the time.
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“I will be forever grateful that I was given this opportunity to step away from my collections and fully focus on how I could best combine what I have to offer with Beyoncé’s incredible talent, drive and vision.
“I doubt I will ever forget the joy of working with her and her team, or the awe-inspiring experience I felt watching Beyoncé masterfully direct her troops on stage, or the beauty of listening to that extraordinary voice as she rehearsed.”
The Disney x Balmain collection will be released on July 8th at Balmain’s websiteBalmain stores and select retailers such as Saks.
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