Meet 26 yr old Olivier Rousteing, a French born African who was named creative director at legendary fashion house Balmain back in April of 2011 . Rousteing took over the top creative job at Balmain after mentor Christophe Decarnin stepped aside for health reasons. Rousteing, a veteran of Roberto Cavalli under Peter Dundas and Balmain under Decarnin, managed to remain unseen for the most part and was very involved in the design background. When it was announced back in spring 2011 that Balmain picked him to lead their creative force, the fashion world naturally went into buzz mania asking who was the handsome young guy taking over and searched endlessly for photos of him. The only photo anyone was able to find seemed to be the one issued by Balmain of Mr. Rousteing in black and white. Fast forward almost a year after taking over, and one can find a few more pictures of the model looking young designer, due to his debut as Balmain's designer showcasing the Spring/Summer 2012 collection. He's being embraced by the who is who in fashion and he is also making plans to take a trip to Vegas (if he hasn't already at the time of this posting). He said he's never been.
When I arrived, I loved the rock ‘n’ roll sex appeal that was in the house, [and] I loved to work with Christophe, obviously. But what I learned from this house is that there is a real DNA, something from the past that I want to bring back. I want to bring the couture feeling that I tried to during the summer [for Spring 2011].
On his goal for the label:
I want to go to something more timeless. Something that goes for the future. What I love from the old French house, it’s not seasonal. It’s something that stays. That’s my goal for Balmain. Keeping the sexiness but a bit dressier. For a woman who’s more chic, [to] expand from the woman who was before.Forbes says he's a name you need to know.We couldn't agree more. Here are some more images of the beautiful Olivier below as well as a video clip of his Spring Summer 2012 collection on stage:
