Olivier Rousteing is not the kind of name that sends bells of familiarity ringing in your head. But that will likely change. Balmain have chosen Rousteing as the house’s new Creative Director after the departure of Christophe Decarnin.
Rousteing was already running Balmain’s womenswear design studio behind the scenes. Now in handing him the reigns Balmain are giving a young man a huge opportunity and the brand, in a sense, a fresh start. Big names bring with them big publicity – but also big preconceptions. If another fashion house’s Creative Director were poached for the job they’d come lugging behind them a train of luxurious yet heavy baggage. If Tisci took over, for example, we’d be pre-speculating how he’d transition from Givenchy and how much of his penchant for all things dark would manifest in Balmain’s presently sequin-covered brand. No such preconceptions for a man we know relatively little of.
But for Rousteing that’s by the by, as he now faces a double challenge: the pressure of being the recognized name and face of a major luxury brand – a pressure which has proved soul-destroying for too many a tortured genius in the past – atop the pressure of stepping into someone else’s (sizeable) shoes.
Via.
