ROUSTEING, OLIVIER

BRAND AND FASHION DESIGNER ,   R

OLIVIER ROUSTEING: THE “WONDER BOY” OF FASHION WHO BROUGHT BALMAIN BACK TO THE SHOW 

ORIGINS

Born in Bordeaux (April 3, 1986), Olivier Rousteing is a French fashion designer.

Among the most eclectic designers of his generation.  Uniquely a nonconformist, esthete and histrionic. His childhood has to be rewritten. Notably, he never knew his mother. Importantly, he was registered as a son of NN (Nomen Nescio, Latin expression that indicates the incomplete identification of a person). However, the desire to know his origins remained. Although he was raised in a family of modest social extraction, that loved him. Olivier managed to discover his origins. His mother, of Somali origin, brought him into the world when she was just 15 years old. His father is Ethiopian.

Final rousteing of Balmain fashion show

PARENTAL BONDS

Apparently no bond was between the two; rumor being she was not consenting during conception. In a touching interview, Olivier said: “I was looking for the comfort of a mother and I found the despair of a teenage girl. I wanted to hold her in my arms.” Growing up with a new family. His mother, an optician while the father a seaport manager. A perfectionist, he spent whole days studying. Often continuing until 5 am. Olivier felt the absence of his biological mother, of a stable bond. By his own admission, he could hardly trust those around him, feel loved and protected. His rise in fashion, is a sort of revenge, a need to emphasize his presence. Ability to run a company with more than 500 employees.

Importantly he graduated at ESMOD (Ecole Supérieure des Arts et Techniques de la Mode) in Paris. Consequently in 2003 he began working as an intern at Roberto Cavalli. He held the role of assistant for the maison and, subsequently, he became the creative director of the women’s collection.

DEBUT AT BALMAIN 

As of 2009, he joined Balmain, alongside the former creative director Cristophe Decarnin. During 2011, at just 25, Rousteing took over the company. Event of 2019, the designer re-proposed Balmain’s Haute Couture. The show stopped at the spring 2003 collection signed by Laurent Marcier who, shortly after, left his position in the hands of Christophe Lebourg. The return to schedule has an important meaning today. Rebirth. Thanks to it, the attention was focused on a virtuous representative of fashion, who, at just 33 years of age, taught his colleagues the real meaning of couture. It seems that no one could imagine that Rousteing could create a frank, honest, intellectual and complex collection. The best, probably. He studied in detail and his collection was full of complicated embroidery as Pierre preferred Balmain. Mobile, essential, experimental architectural structures: clothes imply critical observation. There is an emotional mark in the creative project certainly dictated by the desire not to disappoint expectations after years of absence.

Olivier Rousteing. Balmain Haute Couture 2019

Particularly, pleats drawing perfect arches, fine fans that bind, detail after detail, the irrational verve of the collection. Significantly, architecture is the central pivot of the Haute Couture spring/summer 2019 Balmain Paris, in homage to the couturier who never completed his studies as an architect. Notably, the sphere is at the center of the brand’s complex project accompanied by exaggerated volumes, bows and details taken from the Far East.

Favorite palette of the company founder is also the protagonist. Among the shades, mauve, green and light gray stood out.

As of 2019 the docufilm Wonder Boy came out, revealing the intimate, fragile and at the same time combative side of the French designer.

wonder boy cover

The designer is also known for his friendship and collaboration with many celebrities known all over the world. Among these, the very faithful Kim Kardashian, often photographed together with the stylist and with the clothes designed by Rousteing directly for her.

Olivier Rousteing and Kim Kardashian

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Balmain, great comeback in Haute Couture

Balmain Paris 2020, invincible and sexy amazons on the catwalk