top of page

OLIVIER ROUSTEING

PARIS_~1.JPG

Olivier Rousteing was born in 1985 in France and was adopted at the age of 1. He spent his young years in Bordeaux and enrolled at ESMOD in Paris to study fashion design. After his graduation in 2003, he started as a designer at Roberto Cavalli and was soon promoted to the head of the womenswear design.


In 2009, Rousteing joined Balmain, where he worked with Christoph Decarnin, who he replaced in the position of Balmain's creative director in 2011 (at the age of only 25 years).


Rousteing tried to orient the fashion house toward the finest traditions of French couture. When appointed as a creative director, Rousteing's background as a modestly known fashion designer enabled him to bring fresh aesthetics to the label, which has remained unique till the present.

 
According to Rousteing, his young age, his unknown status, and also his race brought him a lot of trouble in the beginning of his management at Balmain. ''Oh my God, he's a minority taking over a French house!'' – Rousteing said  in 2015, as a common example of people's reaction to his appointment.

​

He successfully managed to implement Asian elements into a European fashion house's clothes, increasing the label's growing Asian market.

Especially successful was his online expansion using the help of major international celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian, Justin Bieber, Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Nicki Minaj, etc. Balmain's social media presence grew with unbelievable speed. Rousteing also contributed to opening Balmain's stores in main fashion metropoles such as New York and London. Nowadays, the designer works further on the company's development 

Watch Olivier Rousteing showing his studio and bringing the importance of social media to a new level

Watch Balmain's Fall/Winter 2019 / 2020 Fashion Show by Olivier Rousteing

bottom of page