By Sharon Feiereisen

The Spring 2009 Christophe Decarnin-designed Balmain collection was pure and utter sex-appeal with a hint of 80's flash.

Form-fitting mini dresses (some of which seemed inspired by Herve Leger’s bandage dress), low-waisted ripped skinny jeans, slim blazers and jackets, and lace tops flooded the collection.

The looks were paired with strappy black flats accented with studs that brought a sexy-rock edge to many of the looks.

The strongest looks were the more casual ones that paired jeans with tailored blazers, most of which featured heavily-angulered shoulders.

Overall the collection had a distinctive 80's feel with the abundance of flashy beadwork and like in this season’s Nina Ricci collection, there were a number of dresses cut short in the front with a long flowing back, though as was the case with Oliver Theyskens’ collection, a good number of the looks did not score high marks on the wearability side.

Images courtesy of the Fashion Spot forums.