Balmain designs a Diffusion line

The much-lauded Balmain Diffusion Line is almost upon us. A few press shots have been released of the efforts from the new design team, appointed by Pierre Balmain himself.

Described as a 'more casual and relaxed' line, t-shirts from the brand will retail for $172 (the least expensive offering) up to about $1,291 for an evening gown.

Balmain has big plans for this line- it has been revealed that the brand hopes to sell this collection in more than 700 stores worldwide.

But will it be a worldwide hit, and a worthy alternative to the chic and slick tayloring of the Balmain main line? I have included a few photos of the mainline runway collection for AW 11, transposed next to examples from the diffusion brand.  I'll let you decide.