Balmain Fires Designer Christophe Decarnin

And another one bites the dust. If you noticed Balmain head designer Christophe Decarnin's absence at the recent fall 2011 show, you weren't alone. Decarnin was rumored to have been at a mental institute and out of communication with the brand's CEO. Now, he's officially been let go from Balmain.

Cathy Horyn writes that Decarnin may have been suffering from the same pressures that caused Galliano to snap. She says:

Balmain’s success in the Decarnin years was based on a relatively simple formula of impeccably tailored jackets, tough pants, T-shirts and sexy beaded dresses — all for staggering sums — and Mr. Decarnin may have felt stuck in recent months about his direction. Designers are indeed under a lot of pressure, some of it self-imposed, to create relevant collections. Shy and introverted, with a label that had its admirers and critics, Mr. Decarnin may have been more vulnerable than others to that pressure.

Decarnin currently doesn't have a successor, but insiders say it's likely to come from within the Balmain ranks.

Source: NY Mag