“My muses are singular and audacious women, like Lou Doillon, Beyoncé, or Rihanna, the coolest artist of the moment.” Olivier Rousteing, creative director for Balmain, celebrates the modern woman every season: her independence, her sensuality, her sophistication, her aura.”
For this new collection, Olivier Rousteing’s mood board was entirely covered with creations by Paul Poiret, Christian Lacroix, and Pierre Balmain himself: there was no lack of inspiration for this young designer who’s on a quest for controlled exuberance and eccentricities that are in line with the times. His runway opened up with an no-holds-barred futuristic look: a diaphanous Glamazon appears, draped in a silver lurex skirt, with an embroidered rhinestone top in silk and marbled leather. Set to the white hot guitars of Led Zeppelin, the girls strut down the catwalk in calf leather thigh boots, their chandelier earrings clinking as they go.
Olivier Rousteing was born in France where he was placed in an orphanage before being adopted and raised in Bordeaux. He got his degree at ESMOD in Paris and, attracted the eye of Peter Dundas who welcomed him to Cavalli, where he worked five years before joining Balmain under the auspices of the popular Christophe De Carnin. Together, they gave the French couture house a flamboyant renaissance: timeless pieces covered with embroidery and other adornments, a rock’n’roll attitude, sexy and detached. Right away, the duo’s impeccably cut and richly embroidered jackets became a success; these precious, jubilant creatures with a cool couture allure took over runways, magazines, and then the streets.
When Christophe De Carnin stepped down, Olivier Rousteing didn’t falter from the creative direction of his predecessor, falling between radical opulence and Hollywood glamour. Taking inspiration from Elvis Presley’s Vegas shows, he continues to dress women in flamboyant outfits with his unique style and his ultra-contemporary vision of fashion topped off with a little “hound dog” twist.
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