Olivier Rousteing designs fashion - Elle

In his workshop, Olivier Rousteing, artistic director of Balmain, welcomed us, and designed, for ELLE, the silhouettes that make the success of the fashion house, while evoking his work.

At the head of the Balmain house since 2011, Olivier Rousteing makes women dream with his dresses with very worked lines. And for good reason, when he draws, the French designer is very precise in his vision in the space of the garment. He puts his desires down on paper, makes his sketches into a dream, then turns to reality by explaining to his teams in the studio, those he calls his mechanics, what exactly he has in mind, the material, the fall... Then, in the greatest secrecy of his studio located a stone's throw from Saint-Lazare station in Paris, the magic happens, and these drawings are transformed into silhouettes on a catwalk, season after season.

From children's drawings to fashion drawings

It all started when, as a child, he drew his first silhouettes, those of the super heroines he invented for himself. Women at the crossroads of Wonder Woman, Catwoman and Cruella de Vil. He imagines these female characters, adorning them with capes, sublime dresses, and already very well supported. In the mind of the very young Olivier Rousteing flourish these strong women full of presence. Years later, in fashion school, he perfected his know-how, but made his drawings a support for his fantasies more than for his reality.

Olivier Rousteing assures him that as the world stays at home longer, he will continue to design beautiful dresses for us. “After the Covid, there is life, so I need to draw life, we can continue to party in Balmain, we must continue to party anyway! »