Enter Olivier Rousting at Balmain

One day in 2005, when I was reading Vogue, I noticed a snippet that Balmain was going to present a collection designed by Christophe Decarnin. I was really excited that the Balmain name is finding its way back into the fashion world because after the Haute Couture was shuttered, Balmain almost dissapeared completely. I read that Decarnin was the Artistic director of Paco Rabanne for seven years. I did not know what to expect only to hope that the upcoming collection would be strong enough to revitalize the Balmain name.
Eventually Balmain got back on its feet, thanks to Decarnin and the sexy, high dresses, lightweight T-shirts and ornate embroidery he created that dominated the runway. These could not stay on the racks...or shelves. The Balmain name has claimed its rightful place in fashion once more.

Christophe Decarnin

This year Decarnin was not at the Fall 2011/12 presentation due to his depression and his doctors orders. He then left Balmian abruptly because Decarnin and CEO Alain Hivelin had different views of strategy and direction for the fast growing company. The Decarnin era at Balmain ends and the Rousteing era begins.
Olivier Rousteing has been appointed as the designer of the women's and men's ready-to-wear collections. Rousteing has been in charge of the Balmain women's studio since 2009 and worked at Roberto Cavalli for five years. For his appointment Rousteing said, "I plan to honor that confidence by ensuring that Pierre Balmain always remains one of the leading brands that others look to as a reference." He did not elaborate on what his planned vision is for the House of Balmain.

Olivier Rousteing

It is actually nice to see that an unknown is given the chance to show what they can do. I can only imagine the pressure and the excitement that Rousteing may feel. What a great opportunity for him!
I look forward to see what Balmain has to offer again. Rousteing is practically an unknown. And you know what? Why not give an understudy a chance. The audience will certainly like what he does. I'm sure.