Is Isabel Marant turning into Balmain?

The darling of Paris Fashion Week is just about to break the big time. So why choose now to paraphrase big shoulders?

Lawks alordy — just when the rest of fashion is twigging on to the radical idea of grown-up dressing, Marant, the cool girl’s go-to designer, decides to give the rock chick another spin, albeit a rocker with some natty French spit and polish. Ponytails a-swinging, those models in their skinny, leather cropped hipsters and slouch shirts and jackets tore up the runway, aided and abetted by Bardot-esque eyeliner and low stiletto heels (that trend must surely be on its way back after this). But it all looked oddly familiar ... this is territory well trodden by Christophe Decarnin at Balmain. Marant made it cuter (her big shoulders looked tough rather than ludicrous) and her sparkly trousers cost around £300 as opposed to Balmain’s £10,000.

Even so, it’s odd timing. After two decades of quietly working her way towards Paris’s best-kept-secret status, Marant’s about to go global.This spring Net-a-porter stocked her for the first time, and her mid-priced separates sold out in a week. A shop in London is en route, and they love her in New York too. So why choose this moment to paraphrase another fashion house?

Marant knows how to cut a winning piece: those slopey-shouldered coats, bomber jackets and trousers will be on thousands of wish lists come autumn. But we could have done with a lesson from the hip one in how to make fashion’s new primness work in a modern way.

Lisa Armstrong, The Times 08-03-2010