Antonin Tron's second collection for Balmain was presented at the Hôtel de Maisons, a historic building once owned by the legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld. The show's staging was based on a theme centered around curtains, with thick, opaque plastic tarps covering the windows from the outside. During the show, rain was simulated, and a long musical mix dedicated to Jim Morrison played, beginning with his famous song "Riders on the Storm." The lighting was carefully controlled to ensure that Tron's clothing remained the focal point of the presentation. The collection was inspired by a variety of sources, including the 1940s Balmain shows and the travels of the French philosopher Michel Foucault along the American West Coast in 1975. Tron referenced reading the book Foucault in California, which explores Foucault's experiences with LSD in Death Valley and the concept of the desert as a place for expanded consciousness, experimentation, and disillusionment. Other influences included the psychedelic atmosphere of the American desert, the music of Jim Morrison, themes of sexuality, the writing of Joan Didion, and the art of Walter De Maria. Another key influence was the work of Roger Caillois, a French writer and collector of stones, whose reflections on natural forms inspired the colors, embroidery, and surface treatments used in the collection. Tron emphasized that nature had already created the forms he was using. This idea was reflected in heeled shoes decorated with mineral patterns, as well as in the numerous animal prints that appeared throughout the collection. The clothing was also designed to flow around the body in a fluid, natural way. The collection featured a range of sophisticated and sensually powerful silhouettes, many of which could have belonged to women who once visited Lagerfeld's salon. The designs included mini skirts that evoked the look of loosened pantyhose, tops shaped like corsets, pleated dresses, and draped jersey pieces that hovered in an ambiguous space between formality and informality. Short satin jackets were worn over visible bras, with pants featuring low waistlines, jackets incorporating soft shoulders, and evening gowns that spread out in asymmetrical pleats. The materials used contributed to a slightly hallucinatory sense of opulence. Luxurious, immersive, and sometimes almost psychedelic, the materials were worked in three stages. Jacquard fabrics were first printed and then embroidered, while a surface called "toxic fish" combined sequins, overprinting, and hand embroidery. Toward the end of the show, the accumulation of textures reached its peak with dresses where animal prints were layered with embroidery and crystals. The collection was remarkably conceptual and executed with great precision, offering a genuinely hot and feminine fashion. It was suggested that the collection could make a sensation at the Hôtel Costes and in other places where luxury is willingly tinged with decadence. However, Tron still seems to be searching for the formula that will allow his creative universe to fully connect with that of the house he is currently designing the future of.