Designer Christophe Decarnin left many questions unanswered after missing his bow at the end of the Balmain show in Paris on Thursday.
Alain Hivelin, Balmain's owner, explained to the Telegraph that Decarnin was "tired, after working on the collection. No, he's NOT retired. He's just tired. He didn't go to bed until 5 a.m. He's not here, he's resting."
But it might not be as simple as that.
WWD writes: "The designer was absent under doctor's orders, after having recently been released from the hospital, where he was said to have been treated for depression. A Balmain spokesman said Decarnin was involved in the design. This season, he worked with a new stylist, Melanie Ward, who replaced Emmanuelle Alt, who is focusing full-time on French Vogue."
Hint Mag claims that the designer is still at a mental hospital, following a nervous breakdown two months ago -- "Decarnin is said to have disappeared one day in mid-January. Soon after, according to our source, it was announced to employees that he would not be returning." Hint also writes that Decarnin did not work on the fall collection.
A spokesperson told The Daily Beast that Decarnin "is not feeling well" and "by doctor's orders needs rest, and that is the only reason he was not present at the show." Isabel Wilkinson writes: "The spokesperson says that the rumors about a breakdown from drugs and the mental hospital are 'completely untrue.' The spokesperson wouldn't say the cause of his ailment, only that it was 'not anything physical.'"