Fashion switch, Olivier Rousteing of Balmain
Fashion switch, Olivier Rousteing of Balmain
When Olivier Rousteing received a fashion industry award in New York last month, the designer He did not accept the prize alone. Instead, he took the stage surrounded by models and other members of his "Balmain Army".
Such unorthodox gestures are typical of Mr. Rousteing, 33, a playful troublemaker in the tradition of luxury fashion and snobbery. Since he became creative director of the French house Balmain in 2011, he has favored a populist spirit instead of the elitist that is in the DNA of many high-end labels.
Mr. Rousteing, (pronounced roo-STAHH), defended hip-hop music and artists like Rihanna and Kim Kardashian, a reality television actor, before other designers did. He also embraced racial diversity at a time when many luxury brands ignored the problem.
Mr. Rousteing, the first black creative director of a great luxury brand in many years, says that black designers finally receive the recognition they deserve.
Photo:
Laura Stevens for The Wall Street Journal
Adopted from an orphanage by a white couple in Bordeaux when he was five months old, Mr. Rousteing believes he is of mixed race and considers himself black. "All my life, people might say you're not black and you're not white, but I was black enough to be called a black designer because of the lack of diversity in fashion," said Mr. Rousteing, who is filming a Documentary about his life in which he tries to trace his origins. His appointment at Balmain made him the first black creative director of a great luxury brand in many years and the youngest creative director of a major fashion house since Yves Saint Laurent.
When it started Instagramming in 2012Most of the luxury brands and designers continued to control their images closely to preserve a certain mystique. "I remember people saying, 'You can not show much about yourself,'" he said. "They were asking me to be a bit of a snob and I was like, 'This is not right, this is what is happening today.'" Mr. Rousteing's 5 million followers gobble up a series of selfies and other flashes of his life, like the equipment Beyoncé for Coachella or attending the gala of met. "I think this was my own way of saying that I'm not a snob," he said.
its Eye-catching designs, no sexy apologies characteristic "a lot of brightness and a lot of brightness", he said, its clear construction transmits confident authority. The "Balmainiacs" range from the 23-year-old model Kendall Jenner to her mother Kris and the first lady of France, Brigitte Macron. Mr. Rousteing spoke in the Journal recently in New York. Edited excerpts:
Can luxury designer brands no longer be snobbish or distant?
I think they are afraid of not being cool ... I think the "trend" of today is trying not to be snobbish. It's fun to see that because the fashion world will change and the people who will really succeed are the people who stick to what they are. This is because right now you can recognize a brand that is trying to copy another and can recognize a brand that really adheres to who it is and what it really believes.
It was proposed to make fashion less snobbish and exclusive. But does it not have to be exclusive?
I think fashion should be exclusive, but exclusive does not mean not being inclusive. Fashion still needs to be a dream world, something you admire ... But it has to be more inclusive, because the new generation ... needs to identify. My work and my vision refer to the next generation: "I will make sure that you can identify yourself in your dreams".
Who is he?
- First name: Olivier Rousteing
- What does the: Fashion designer, creative director of Balmain.
- How do I get there: Abandoned from the fashion school in Paris, he moved to Italy and, at the age of 19, got a job at Roberto Cavalli. He became designer of the garment collections for men and women of the label, helping to put it on the fashion radar.
- Your great opportunity: In 2011, after a year and a half of design in Balmain in Paris under the direction of creative director Christophe Decarnin, Mr. Rousteing, 25, was promoted to creative director after the abrupt departure of Decarnin. He became the youngest creative director of a great fashion house since Yves Saint Laurent, and the first black creative director in a leading luxury fashion brand in many years.
- His obsession: Music. Michael Jackson is a favorite. His male spring show of 2019 in June was a tribute to the King of Pop.
Are there still fashion porters?
We live in a world where consumers are stronger than reviewers. Each one has its own aesthetic, has its own taste and nobody is going to tell you what is beautiful or what is not beautiful, what is great or what is not.
Where are we with diversity in the fashion industry?
At this time many people talk about diversity, which makes me feel very proud because that was a fight I had about eight years ago when I started in Balmain. And I can tell you that that word diversity was not a word of tendency. Many people said that the way I was so inclusive was a little cheaper than the fashion world ... Today I see some people talking about inclusiveness that were really exclusive three years ago! We have to be careful and not just say that diversity is great. Because it is not about being fashionable, it is about pressuring the world to seek a vision and an acceptance of what is the world of today.
Why do you think there are no more successful black designers?
There have always been incredible black designers. But I think they were not recognized before. The difference is that right now, finally, we can recognize them.
In the latest Balmain fashion show, why did you incorporate virtual reality technology?
I wanted to be more inclusive. It was very important to open the fashion shows to a wider audience.
Not just broadcasting your program live?
It is the next step. Because the live broadcast is excellent, but the VR with Oculus (a manufacturer of virtual reality headsets) is as if you were sitting in the program ... My goal will be in a few years to make sure that millions and millions can see the Program. of people who feel as if they were sitting there.
You have praised the creative director of Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, as "the best inspiration of fashion in life". Any other in Heritage fashion houses with their gift for wooing millennials and not alienating older customers?
No. For me, Karl is the only one who has understood everything about fashion. I had a very old French house and it made it really great and still very relevant. He is very close to pop culture and at the same time has the old tradition of France. And it's not about putting shoes on the track.
What is the biggest challenge of the fashion industry?
I feel like this is a transition. Everyone will go back to quality. To luxury. To creativity. The biggest challenge for the fashion industry is to define the codes of what fashion is. Those who will remain in the fashion business will be people who really embrace the new world and those who will not, will be people who will never understand it. The fashion houses, all of them, have codes. But now is the time to define the new codes and expand the boundaries of the precedent and expand the boundaries of many people who might say, "Oh, we never do that in the house." But maybe it's time I did it. that.
Mr. Rousteing accepted an award from Fashion Group International last month in New York among members of his "Balmain Army".
Photo:
Sean Zanni / Patrick McMullan
Write to Ray A. Smith in ray.smith@wsj.com
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