Balmain, creative director part ways

Balmain has parted ways with Christophe Decarnin as its creative director for women`s collection.

Paris: Balmain has parted ways with Christophe Decarnin as its creative director for women`s ready-to-wear collections, the Parisian fashion house said on Wednesday.

In a statement, Balmain announced "the end of its collaboration" with the French-born designer, whose absence from its fall-winter show in Paris last month prompted rumours that he was suffering from depression. "Christophe Decarnin`s work with the house`s design team contributed to the success that the brand has enjoyed in recent years," chief executive Alain Hivelin said. His successor is to be named in a matter of days, added a Balmain spokeswoman who refused to elaborate on the circumstances behind the split. Decarnin joined Balmain in 2005 as a designer after seven years at Paco Rabanne, and was promoted to creative director in 2007. His rock-influenced creations -- skinny leather jeans, military jackets and a torn Old Glory tank top that costs 949 euros ($1,350) on Net-a-Porter -- revived Balmain`s fortunes after its mid-decade brush with bankruptcy. Another big name in Parisian fashion, Christian Dior, has yet to name a new chief designer after its abrupt firing last month of John Galliano, who is facing trial on charges of making racist and anti-Semitic remarks. Bureau Report