Olivier Rousteing: The brash millennial designer using social media to turn a profit
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Olivier Rousteing: The brash millennial designer using social media to plow a profit
On the brink of bankruptcy, Balmain took a risk on a young designer with a penchant for disco. Rousteing, with his army of celebrities, now pulls in an annual profit of Southward$233.5 million.
(Illustration: Clare Chan. Photos: @olivier_rousteing)
02 Dec 2022 06:31AM (Updated: 03 Jul 2022 05:21PM)
He's young, he'south famous, he'south gorgeous – a vision of glowing skin perpetually sucking on a lollipop. And he'south got the whole manner world eating out of his hands.
Olivier Rousteing, 32, is an anomaly, just precisely the kind that style loves. Being the rare European man of color in a creative head position at a French luxury brand, Rousteing occupies a unique position in the fashion landscape today. (Notably, Virgil Abloh, an American, was appointed Louis Vuitton Men's creative director this year.)
Fabricated creative managing director of Balmain at the tender age of 24 in 2011, Rousteing was a wild card appointment, existence relatively unknown, and also black. Merely every bit it turned out, he came to the fore at a time when the world of social media was simply most to explode, and here was a young man who knew, better than almost every other designer, how to work information technology.
His personal Instagram business relationship boasts v.1 meg followers, and is brindled with selfies that he takes while partying with members of his Balmain Regular army – a drove of celebrities like Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Gigi and Bella Hadid, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and well as models like Cindy Bruna, Amanda Wellsh and Ysaunny Brito.
Then, of course, there is the extended army of the women who wear Balmain to style and entertainment's most visible events: Taylor Swift dressed as a disco ball at the American Music Awards; Jennifer Lopez in a staggering beaded crucifix gown at the Met Gala; and at the Oscars, Anna Kendrick in a chic pant-suit, outdone only past the legendary Jane Fonda in a white Balmain gown. And that's just this yr.
I love seeing a Zara window with my clothes mixed in with Celine and Proenza Schouler. I remember that'due south genius.
In 2009, Rousteing came to Balmain from Roberto Cavalli, where he was a designer for womenswear under main designer Peter Dundas. He became assistant to head designer Christophe DeCarnin, who was a renegade that caused Balmain'south stratospheric climb to popularity with his determination to upturn the brand's demure and feminine – and to be truthful, unpopular – aesthetic in 2006 and sex things up, from hemlines to prices.
DeCarnin's stone 'n' roll take on Balmain electrified the earth – it seemed the more than expensive it was – US$xv,000 (S$20,640) for that must-have beaded military jacket – the more customers wanted it. But after five years, DeCarnin resigned from Balmain, reportedly due to stress.
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Promoting Rousteing to DeCarnin's position seemed an unorthodox motion, just was, on retrospect, a sensible one. Rousteing was already working with the same artistic team, he understood what information technology took to brand Balmain the highly desirable make it had get, yet he maintained respect for the house the Pierre Balmain congenital.
"I do recall that my aesthetic is exactly what Pierre Balmain would do," he told The Independent in 2014, referring to Monsieur Balmain'southward "Jolie Madame" or jet-prepare adult female of his day.
Today, 7 years after his appointment as Balmain's artistic director, Rousteing has more proven that he was the right choice.
The brand was close to bankruptcy in 2006 when DeCarnin was first hired. By 2016, it was valued at 500 one thousand thousand euros (S$779.4 million) when Qatari sovereign wealth fund Mayhoola for Investments, which as well owns Valentino, caused a majority stake in the brand.
If Valentino'south rapid rise since the acquisition is annihilation to become by, the investment should allow Balmain to develop much further as a major luxury brand with global stores and expanded categories. Although the branding is remarkable, Balmain'south 2022 revenue was reported to exist but 150 million euros, compared to Louis Vuitton's 42.6 billion euros. Information technology's a small brand that Mayhoola believes has long legs.
Credit has been given to Rousteing and his propensity for extreme glamour and sex activity appeal that draws hot celebrities similar bees to honey. He has given interviews over the years that state that the of import things in life are sex and breaking the rules.
There'southward as well the goldmine that is his social media flair, particularly his Instagram savvy: Rousteing was the start French designer to hit one million followers on Instagram. Thanks to him, Balmain now has 8.8 meg followers on Instagram.
Rousteing's millennial status – he was born in 1982 – makes him relatable to his generation, in the aforementioned mode Rihanna (built-in in 1988) and Kendall Jenner (born in 1995) are.
Orphaned at nascence, he was adopted at five months past a white French couple – that he stood for diversity in manner only increased his social clout. To them, he is both fantasy and reality, a superstar who parties every chance he gets (it seems), and maintains a peckish for tardily-night McNuggets with barbecue sauce ("The cheeseburger is so good, only I save that for mornings when I'thou still drunkard," he once told Harper'southward Bazaar).
Of form, the millennials know all this and more because it appears in Jenner's or Gigi Hadid's Instagram feeds.
He conspicuously designs for the confident, empowered adult female who is unafraid to dress to delight herself.
What endears him further to his young fans is his recognition that Balmain is, in fact, out of their accomplish for now. He said to The Independent in 2014: "I know not everyone can afford a thousand-dollar jacket. I'1000 doing fashion for my amazing front row every season, merely at the same fourth dimension, I'm doing style for young girls, who article of clothing their version in the street."
"I think it was Coco Chanel who said that if you're original, be ready to exist copied. I love seeing a Zara window with my apparel mixed in with Celine and Proenza Schouler. I think that's genius."
Today, y'all can buy a Balmain logo tee for effectually 300 euros, which is less than a tertiary of what his predecessor priced a basic tee. In one of Rousteing's boldest moves, Balmain collaborated with H&G in 2022 on a drove generously based on the brand's acknowledged pieces. Of grade, that collection sold out online within minutes (and hours at flagship stores) of its launch worldwide – it offered a wider audience a piece of Balmain at half the toll, or less.
The beauty of information technology all was that it took goose egg abroad from his core, luxury customers – Rousteing makes sure he takes good care of them. Min-Li Tan, a lawyer and Balmain collector based in Singapore has been investing in Rousteing's designs for many seasons and is proud owner of most 20 Balmain pieces.
"I dear where Olivier has brought Balmain, and I love his strong, feminine silhouettes," she said, calculation that although she had been aware of the brand earlier 2011, it wasn't on her radar to buy.
"He clearly designs for the confident, empowered woman who is unafraid to dress to please herself. His often body-conscious styles also force me to keep in shape – an added bonus. Olivier has often stated that he champions multifariousness and the empowerment of women, which strikes a chord with me."
Earlier this May, Tan met the designer himself in Paris at a by-invite-only Internet-A-Porter event launching a Balmain capsule drove. "He was extraordinarily warm and charming, so friendly and apprehensive – I was then taken with him," she said. "If I wasn't a fan before, I certainly walked away from that dinner a Balmain fan."
Rousteing has received accolades for his collections from the likes of Vogue's International Editor, Suzy Menkes, who seems to grow fonder of the young designer past the season. But he has his fair share of critics, among them Robin Givhan of the Washington Post, who has made trolling Balmain well-nigh a yearly affair.
I feel like manner tries to fit everybody in the same box: If you fit, so that is the industry's view of success. And to me, that is elitist.
Her headline for the Spring 2022 Paris Style Week: "At Balmain, those aren't apparel on the track, they're a social media moment." Givhan's Bound 2022 collection header: "Could a new designer at Givenchy mean a little less Kardashian in our lives?"
Rousteing takes information technology in his step. He told The New York Times in 2017: "People don't have to love my show or my dress. Simply they should at least encompass the fact I bring some diversity into the luxury world. Sometimes I feel similar fashion tries to fit everybody in the same box: If you fit, and then that is the manufacture's view of success. And to me, that is elitist… I am able to take criticism simply non disrespect."
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