Rihanna, Kim Kardashian West, Kendall Jenner, Cara Delevingne Rosie Huntington Whiteley, Naomi Campbell, Iman, Alessandra Ambrosio, Karlie Kloss, Nicki Minaj, Gigi Hadid, Joan Smalls, Miley Cyrus, Gisele Bundchen, Chanel Iman, Selena Gomez, Kanye West,…. the list goes ON & ON … BALMAIN’s Army is taking over the fashion world one catwalk & selfie at a time, courtesy of, Olivier Rousteing. The 28 year old creative director has turned the Paris Fashion house into a POWER house.
Rousteing’s unconventional ways are reigning the industry, especially due to the impact of celebs/supermodels/musicians. “When you look at the fashion brands, how many followers do they have? Balmain has 1.1 million. It’s like 10 per cent of what those girls have. It shows you the power of the personality more than the power of the entire brand.”
The Bourdeaux-born babe (for real those cheek bones…) talks to Telegraph.co.uk about design, his muses & more, he says, “Celebrity is more important today than it used to be. It gives access to so many different people. For me it’s the new high-street window. You can actually be part of the dream. It’s not only available to 10 people on the front row – it’s a way of communication that’s inclusive, and there’s something generous about that.”
On his main muse BadGalRiRi: “There’s no doubt about it. She has this aura, this charisma. It’s not only sexual. It’s something else. She is like a new Grace Kelly, or a Madonna… This woman of the world who represents a new world.” Adding,”No, if you mean, ‘Do I have someone in my life?’ No, I don’t. Just work and Rihanna.But that’s enough. That’s a lot!”
On women & fashion: “Fashion had started to forget women in a way, and concentrate too much on the clothes. For me it made no sense. In fashion the biggest moment was when the models were celebrities – we all remember Naomi, Claudia, Carla, Linda. The woman had to come back; the curved woman, and different kinds of body shapes. I don’t like skinny girls. I want to represent a real woman, not just a shadow or a ghost.”
On diversity on the runway: “The mixety [sic] of my castings is one of the most important things about the show,” Rousteing says. “Sometimes I feel like some designers just focus on the clothes. Obviously it’s a business, but when you do a show you want to be modern – it’s not only about trying to find the fabric that no one else uses. Being modern means having a view or a vision of what the world is today. I want to show a vision of my world, what I see and what I want to see in the future.”
On the founder of the French fashion house, Pierre Balmain: “I keep Pierre Balmain in my mind because he loved strong women, women who have something to say. All the French designers – Balmain, Poiret, Dior, Balenciaga – they believed in strong women. Their mothers were really important. In France fashion has always been connected to the role of the woman. I keep in my mind the rules of French fashion.”
We have to say – we’re inlove with Balmain & Olivier’s vision. Thoughts?
ZMGT 