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.

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