Olivier Rousteing - Designer

[montez]

Wow. I was thinking it was his moment tbh since fashion is coming back around to his style and he had some good moments the last couple of years
There’s a whole cohort of people just getting of age that can now afford his work they looked up to. He better get on his Philo

 

[IndigoHomme]

source: https://www.glitz.paris/en/houses/2025/09/04/qatari-royal-family-keeps-balmain-afloat,110517693-art?cxt=PUB&utm_source=GLA&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=AUTO_EDIT_SOM_PROS&did=110347549

So he jumped ship before it sank? Very clever. I was honestly fascinated by his outerwear: his coats and jackets were incredibly well-made and tailored. Needless to say, his collaboration with H&M will be iconic because of the buzz it generated.

 

[reese06]

@montez I don't think his name holds enough and he doesn't really have a definable design language other than bad taste. He is like Marc, where they do 180 from one collection to the next and fashion isn't in that space any more.

The pic you posted is more along what Isabel Marant and Christophe Decarnin are recognizable for.

Balmain has been running on fumes due to moto jeans, t-shirts and their women's blazers which it seems aren't selling anymore.

 

[style_expert]

As for Balmain, Mayhoola has unlimited funds at this point so they can hire anyone.
There are enough big free acts out there for them to choose from.

They can literally choose anyone from Alexandre Vauthier, Riccardo Tisci and even (open the pandora box) Hedi Slimane.

I don’t doubt that Mayhoola has very deep pockets, but I do wonder whether they’re considering exiting fashion altogether. With the planned sale of Valentino to Kering, they'll only have Balmain and Pal Zileri left. And as Glitz reported earlier, Balmain is not doing well which honestly doesn’t surprise me. There are only so many cash injections they’ll be willing to give, I assume.

Either way, they definitely need a fresh eye at Balmain.

To me, saying “Balmain is Olivier” does a huge disservice to both Christophe Decarnin and Emmanuelle Alt, who essentially revived the house from complete obscurity. Olivier was very lucky to get the job at his age and with his level of experience, and he has grown into it to some extent, but looking at where Balmain is today, his creative contribution doesn’t impress me. I appreciate his endurance, but the brand isn’t evolving in a meaningful way.

 

[alwaysademo]

A highlight from Olivier:



Fall 2012, girl number 4. David Sims somehow thought it was better to shoot this entire campaign in monochrome. Then I saw it on Kim right before her wedding on the show and I just knew it was picked by Ye.

 

[Lola701]

I don’t doubt that Mayhoola has very deep pockets, but I do wonder whether they’re considering exiting fashion altogether. With the planned sale of Valentino to Kering, they'll only have Balmain and Pal Zileri left. And as Glitz reported earlier, Balmain is not doing well which honestly doesn’t surprise me. There are only so many cash injections they’ll be willing to give, I assume.

Either way, they definitely need a fresh eye at Balmain.

To me, saying “Balmain is Olivier” does a huge disservice to both Christophe Decarnin and Emmanuelle Alt, who essentially revived the house from complete obscurity. Olivier was very lucky to get the job at his age and with his level of experience, and he has grown into it to some extent, but looking at where Balmain is today, his creative contribution doesn’t impress me. I appreciate his endurance, but the brand isn’t evolving in a meaningful way.

But Balmain is still Olivier lol.
Emmanuelle and Christophe resurrected the brand, made a huge impact in 10 seasons but ultimately, he is the one who took that success to ultra-highs.

Because with Decarnin leaving and Alt taking over Vogue, the meteoric rise of Balmain could have been stopped right away.

The good thing is that he also managed to have some moments of his own from the Faberge collection to other things. He has also successfully managed to « s’affranchir » from Alt and Decarnin and created an aesthetic language of his own.
Me I loved his SS2013 collection.
This look is probably my favorite look ever he did in his career:


I think they may hire someone to sell it at the best price.
The same king of deal the family that owned Balmain did with them.

And I think Mayhoola and Olivier did great in terms of strategy to preserve the brand. I remember that the previous owners did the Pierre Balmain line, which was already a topic of contention with Decarnin. And when Mayhoola took over, they killed the line, adjusted the prices and didn’t do the mistakes that are generally done with sexy brands.

Balmain is more an asset today than it was when Mayhoola bought it anyway.

But if we go by what they have done with Valentino, we may expect a star designer to turn things around before the sale.

Buying Pal Zileri was such a bad idea. Who advised them!

 

[carla56]

Listen ... if Dario Vitale doesn't make it at Versace, I think Olivier could do something there. I doubt Prada Group would ever hire him, though.

It was long overdue for him to be gone from Balmain, but I am still shocked. I may not have always liked what he did at the house, but he should be proud of his tenure and hanging in there.

This is exactly what I was thinking while saying hope he stays away from some houses… the idea of him at Versace is nauseating!!

 

[style_expert]

I think they may hire someone to sell it at the best price.
The same king of deal the family that owned Balmain did with them.

And I think Mayhoola and Olivier did great in terms of strategy to preserve the brand. I remember that the previous owners did the Pierre Balmain line, which was already a topic of contention with Decarnin. And when Mayhoola took over, they killed the line, adjusted the prices and didn’t do the mistakes that are generally done with sexy brands.

Balmain is more an asset today than it was when Mayhoola bought it anyway.

But if we go by what they have done with Valentino, we may expect a star designer to turn things around before the sale.

Buying Pal Zileri was such a bad idea. Who advised them!

They probably have to follow that strategy to achieve a successful sale and at least a somewhat respectable (if any) profit on their investment.
Mayhoola bought Balmain for approximately EUR 500 million in 2016. Last year, the brand generated around EUR 300 million in revenue...The question is how much capital they've had to inject into Balmain since 2016, likely a significant amount.

Yes, they built a stronger brand and a more valuable asset, but at some point they must have realized there are easier investment opportunities with better returns than high fashion Apart from the prestige of course.

 

[Scotty]

Hopefully they shut down the HC too.

 

[alwaysademo]

I feel like his vocab overlaps a bit with Charaf Tajer at Casablanca, a southern slang. Maybe they should do a collab.

 

[AFWQ]

They probably have to follow that strategy to achieve a successful sale and at least a somewhat respectable (if any) profit on their investment.
Mayhoola bought Balmain for approximately EUR 500 million in 2016. Last year, the brand generated around EUR 300 million in revenue...The question is how much capital they've had to inject into Balmain since 2016, likely a significant amount.

Yes, they built a stronger brand and a more valuable asset, but at some point they must have realized there are easier investment opportunities with better returns than high fashion Apart from the prestige of course.

Fashion has became saturated, with amount of collections, products... and Balmain wouldn't be any different.

Specially this year, sales aren't going as well in luxury department.

 

[unknown179]

Olivier loved the og's, very sad in terms of casting. I hoped Anja, Kasia or Magda would've walked his show at least one last time

 

[Lola701]

They probably have to follow that strategy to achieve a successful sale and at least a somewhat respectable (if any) profit on their investment.
Mayhoola bought Balmain for approximately EUR 500 million in 2016. Last year, the brand generated around EUR 300 million in revenue...The question is how much capital they've had to inject into Balmain since 2016, likely a significant amount.

Yes, they built a stronger brand and a more valuable asset, but at some point they must have realized there are easier investment opportunities with better returns than high fashion Apart from the prestige of course.

When they bought Balmain, the revenues were around 150M too.
The troubles didn’t start last year so the decline has been happening. They likely at the peak of the brand success, reached the 500M.

I think they can sell Balmain for 1 billion but they have to dust it off a little bit for it to happen.

Yes, fashion is quite a difficult industry to invest in. Qataris have been investing in Real estate more lately.
Fashion is a lot of operational costs, there are a lot of fluctuations too. Quite an unsure industry too with the faith of a brand turning over in less than 2 years really.

But I must say that for people who entered the industry quite late, they understood a lot of things and more things than people who have been there for years.

In terms of distribution, they have been focused on DTC and less wholesale, when they went to beauty, they chose Estee Lauder…etc.

I mean we have Versace over here still having to deal with VJC and Kering who now decides to focus on DTC for their biggest brand.

Olivier’s leaving check must have been insane! He can probably buy a wine domaine in Bordeaux now lol.

Someone send me a screenshot of Donatella commenting on his IG. I gues the rumors for Versace are going to come up.

 

[Lola701]

Hopefully they shut down the HC too.

They never really opened it. He did one collection, it was a flop, they concentrated in customs for clients and celebrity dressing.

 

[Salvatore]

This is exactly what I was thinking while saying hope he stays away from some houses… the idea of him at Versace is nauseating!!

I could tell that's exactly what you meant ! I am so sorry, but I can just see it. I don't want to upset our most credible resident Versace informant so please forgive me haha

 

[Lola701]

I could tell that's exactly what you meant ! I am so sorry, but I can just see it. I don't want to upset our most credible resident Versace informant so please forgive me haha

It seems plausible. He is a star, he has the celebrity connection, apparently Donatella’s support in general, he is technically capable to do menswear and womenswear and a lot of his tackiness is actually very Gianni coded.

I mean he did a Miami/Versace inspired collection at Balmain…

What he just need is a good stylist by his side. When Charlotte Stockdale joined, he couldn’t tame his excessive ways. He was able to switch with MAS.

I think Versace above all needs someone who is not uncomfortable with the sexy, tacky nature of the brand.

 

[Salvatore]

It seems plausible. He is a star, he has the celebrity connection, apparently Donatella’s support in general, he is technically capable to do menswear and womenswear and a lot of his tackiness is actually very Gianni coded.

I mean he did a Miami/Versace inspired collection at Balmain…

What he just need is a good stylist by his side. When Charlotte Stockdale joined, he couldn’t tame his excessive ways. He was able to switch with MAS.

I think Versace above all needs someone who is not uncomfortable with the sexy, tacky nature of the brand.

100% agree with this. Wasn't he at Cavalli before, also ? I think that with the proper stylist and team and him diving into the archives of Gianni, he'd be capable. Moreso than Tisci, I feel Versace is fit for him. Olivier was obsessed with the time that Karl was into Gianni's work so it is a bit circular, but I also feel he'd throw in some more tame and minimalist sensibilities with the right stylist. His last work at Balmain was more minimal.

So is this effective immediately, or will he do a final proper show ?

 

[jeremydante]

The house and Olivier lost their way, their sparkle vanished and it was time for this departure a few years back.
I am not sure he fits anywhere else as he has had a singular vision at Balmain from the start. His sense for creating trend isn't as prevalent as his ability to follow trends of others.

....also, the braids gotta go - they are comical. Like, BFFR.

 

[jeremydante]

But Balmain is still Olivier...ultimately, he is the one who took that success to ultra-highs.

He was the only one to really take it and make it front and center, as Pierre himself would have wanted.
When it was good, it was great. When it missed, it (Balmain/Olivier) really missed. At least for me.

 

[jeremydante]

Listen ... if Dario Vitale doesn't make it at Versace, I think Olivier could do something there.

This could be something. Not sure of the likelihood either though.