collection together

He refers to his collection-sold only off-the-rack-as being imbued with the couture spirit, by which he means the careful attention to craft, the handwrought details that the garments exhibit.

"I want my clothes to be exclusive but not too exclusive," Decarnin explains. "Always short tiffany cufflinks, a very modern silhouette, matching the way of life of girls today-they want to move in the clothes." His ideal clients are the cool young personalities on the scene-Kirsten Dunst, maybe, or Sofia Coppola, the modern-day equivalents of Brigitte and Ava. (Audrey Tautou wore a swath of his silk muslin to the premiere of The Da Vinci Code.)

Asked why heavy-metal bands, so to speak, dangle from even his frothiest creations, the designer tiffany bracelets that he is fascinated by the contrast between the weighty and the light, the strong and the soft. "Metal will continue as a theme for me. I always like something a little tough, like armor."

Decarnin, too, is a study in contrasts. The famous Balmain boutique, which Pierre first occupied in 1945, is in the heart of this haute-bourgeois quarter just around the corner from the Plaza Athenee. But Decarnin lives in the raffish neighborhood of the Cirque d'Hiver, between the Bastille and the Place de la Repu_blique. Likewise, his favorite city besides Paris isn't New York or London or Milan-fashion capitals all-but free-and-easy Los Angeles. "The people, the actresses-it's another world. I like the sun and the sea-I am a little bit sauvage," he says, giggling. "That's why I love the West Coast."

He may, in fact, be a little wild, but he's not too jaded to resist the glorious tiffany money clips that go into making a fashion show: "For me, it's like a game-I like to have fun!" Before coming to Balmain, he worked for Paco Rabanne, a man he refers to as "an icon of fashion, more than just a fashion designer." Decarnin says he knows exactly what he wants when he designs a collection, and for all his postmodern attitude, he doesn't go in for the newfangled technology so many designers employ. "I drape the fabric myself," he says proudly. "I cannot work in a virtual way." When every last spangle and feather is in place and the first mannequin strides downs the runway, Decarnin is, by his own admission, like a kid at Christmas. "When I see the clothes on all the beautiful girls and the whole collection together, it's like a big gift!"

Decarnin admits that he likes superrelaxed or ultradressy ensembles and at this point doesn't have much interest in messing with Ms. In Between. "I like bizarre things-like sweatshirts made of cotton jersey with silk chiffon inside. I want my clothes to be like an old T-shirt that you always wear. All the fabrics, even the soie de Lyon, are washed, so they seem slightly used. Evening dresses have been stonewashed, even boiled like jeans, not to get a dirty look but for texture." Decarnin pauses, then offers a bashful grin. "Everything has to have that casual couture spirit."