Cellulose Acetate Pince à Cheveux Imperiale White/Black

The claw clip has been having a moment for years. Balmain Paris Hair Couture simply decided it deserved a couture one. The Pince à Cheveux Imperiale is the grandest pince in the house’s accessories wardrobe — sculpted in cellulose acetate, finished in a graphic play of white and black, and built for the kind of hair that ordinary clips give up on.

Imperiale is the operative word. This is the clip Balmain designed for long, thick hair: it holds three times more hair than the house’s own Pince à Cheveux Large, so a full head of lengths twists up without protest. The real couture detail, though, is hidden inside. A unique elastic system gathers the hair together and keeps the clip firmly in place, so it never begins that slow, familiar slide down the back of your head. Because the elastic does the gripping rather than tension alone, the Imperiale works just as confidently on fine hair as on thick. And the closure is concealed beneath the acetate itself, so from every angle it reads as one clean, sculptural object rather than a piece of hardware.

Why our stylists reach for it

• Sculpted in cellulose acetate with a graphic White/Black finish
• Sized for long, thick hair — holds three times more than the Pince à Cheveux Large
• Internal elastic system gathers the hair and stops the clip from slipping
• Grips confidently across hair types, fine or thick
• Concealed closure keeps the silhouette clean from every angle
• Neatly scaled at 6.5 cm long, 5 cm wide and 4.8 cm high

How to Use

Twist your lengths into a messy bun or sweep them into a high ponytail. Open the clip fully, set it over the gathered hair and let the jaws close around the base — the elastic inside draws the hair together and holds it exactly where you placed it. No re-pinning at lunchtime.

An accessory like this is the fastest way to make a five-minute style look considered, and this is the pince our stylists reach for when a client wants her hair up and off her neck in the Gulf heat without surrendering polish. Come see the White/Black Imperiale in person at the Studio Beige atelier in Destin — try it in your own hair at the chair, then wear it out the door.