Since Rousteing took over, Balmain has expanded from an exclusive Paris house into one with global ambitions, with a new shop in London, a sprawling store opening this winter in New York, and plans for outlets in Los Angeles, Doha, Dubai, and Macau. This fall, Rousteing presents a collection with the “fast fashion” label H & M, which has previously collaborated with Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney, and Alexander Wang. The partnership will provide Balmain with a barrage of promotion, including TV commercials, digital billboards, and magazine advertising. H & M has been controversial in recent years, as critics accuse it of producing clothes in Third World “sweatshops,” and the new collection is built around cut-rate versions of Rousteing’s garments. But Balmain expects that the collaboration will only improve its image. “It will make the Balmain customer see how everyone wants Balmain but can’t have it,” the label’s C.E.O., Emmanuel Diemoz, says. “Also, so many people now are making money so fast, maybe the H & M customer will soon become the Balmain customer.”
This June, Rousteing was in London to shoot a television commercial for the H & M-Balmain rollout. Not long before, Vanessa Friedman had written an article noting that the two companies had called their collaboration a “movement of togetherness,” which she described as “almost terrifyingly cynical.” Rousteing was still agitated. During a break in the shoot, he hurried across the cavernous studio, where a crew of hundreds—photographers, makeup artists, seamstresses, set builders—were at work. Rousteing dropped into a chair beside Txampi Diz, Balmain’s public-relations director, and complained bitterly about Friedman.
Turning to me, Diz said, “That’s off the record.”
“Non,” Rousteing said. “If she hits at me, I can say, ‘I don’t like it.’ ” But then he grew philosophical: perhaps his Instagram followers wouldn’t care. “I can speak straight to my Balmain army, instantly, and I am making fashion for them,” he told Diz. “It is too bad for critics if they cannot understand this, but the truth is now that their critiques do not matter.”
When Diz disputed this, Rousteing interrupted: “Who would you rather have in the front row? A celebrity or a critic?”
“There is room for both,” Diz said judiciously.
“No,” Rousteing said. “Only one. Celebrity or critic?”
“Room for both,” Diz repeated.
Rousteing, laughing, persisted until Diz gave up, craning his neck to gaze silently at the ceiling.
“You see?” Rousteing said.
