I recently had the opportunity to volunteer backstage at The Tampa Museum of Art’s signature fundraiser, CITY: Fashion+Art+Culture — with this year’s event featuring luxury fashion house Balmain. In an exclusive collaboration, the Tampa Museum of Art was (and will be) the only location in the United States to host a Balmain runway presentation in 2025. The event showcased the spring-summer 2025 womenswear collection to fashion enthusiasts in the Tampa Bay region, while also benefiting the museum’s exhibitions and education programs.
If I had to sum up this collection in three words, they would be: sequins, structure, and sophisticated. As the first model in the 21-minute presentation made her way down the catwalk, what immediately stood out to me was the graphic of a woman’s face wearing red lipstick on her sparkly, black dress. The eyes were twinkling as the lights reflected off of them, almost animating them the more she walked. Looking back, that first garment successfully established the tone for the rest of the collection, from the color palette to the sequins and structure.Â
Most of the pieces incorporated vibrant red, black, or gold in some way. Elevated, angular shoulder pads were another big detail featured on many of the jackets, adding a dramatic twist on an otherwise basic blazer.Â
My favorite part by far was the graphic elements on a lot of the dresses, especially the pops of color against the black coming from the red lips and red nail polish on the hands. They were very fun and bold, essentially acting as wearable portraits. To me, everything felt true to what Creative Director Olivier Rousteing has been doing with Balmain all these years: adding his own fresh and maximalist take on the house’s signature Parisian styles.Â
Something else about the show I appreciated was the diversity among the models, as women of various ethnic backgrounds and ages walked on the runway.
This was my first (and hopefully not the last) time attending a runway show, and I’d be lying if I said the little girl in me wasn’t jumping for joy on the inside. I initially learned about the volunteering job from one of my colleagues at Seam Magazine, and knew right away this was something I’d be interested in doing.Â
As a fashion lover going to college in a city that isn’t New York or Milan, it isn’t every day that I come across opportunities like this. Aside from the event itself, I also had a blast chatting with all the staff, guests, and other girls volunteering. Making new friends with similar interests was just one of the many highlights of my night. Even though I was there to do a job (which was also quite fun) the whole experience was something I’ll forever cherish.