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Olivier Rousteing Leaves Balmain After 14 Years as Creative Director

By The Citizen on November 5, 2025

Olivier Rousteing at Balmains spring 2026 show in Paris. Photo by Stephane Cardinale Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

Just when we thought the churn of the fashion world waters had finally started to calm, another tidal wave has come through. On Wednesday, November 5, Balmain announced that Olivier Rousteing, the brands creative director, has stepped down after almost a decade and a half in the position.

I am deeply proud of all that Ive accomplished, and profoundly grateful to my exceptional team at Balmain, my chosen family, in a place that has been my home for the past 14 years, Rousteing said in a statement. His departure from the brand marks the end of a partnership characterized by its creativity and cultural significance. It also ends one of the longest creative director tenures in recent fashion history.

Rousteing at Balmains spring/summer 2025 show. | Stephane Cardinale Corbis/Corbis Entertainment/Getty Images

Born in Bordeaux in 1985, Rousteing moved to Paris at a young age to study at Ecole Suprieure des Arts et Techniques de la Mode. He began his career at Roberto Cavalli in 2003, where he worked as the head of the brands womens ready-to-wear collection for five years. In 2009, he moved on to Balmain and began working closely with the French houses then-creative director, Christophe Decarnin. Two years later, at just 25 years old, he was named creative director at Balmain, becoming the youngest replacement designer to lead a major Paris fashion house since Yves Saint Laurent took over Dior. He was also the first Black designer to lead a French house ever. Rousteing was basically unknown at the time of his appointment, making the choice a risk, albeit one that paid off. According to Vogue , over his tenure, Rousteing increased annual revenue tenfold, from 30.4 million in 2012 to an estimated 300 million last year.

Rousteing was successful in placing Balmain back in the cultural landscape, with highly energetic and embellished collections that caught the publics fickle eye. His friendships with celebrities like Beyonc, Rihanna, and Kim Kardashian helped to push his designs further into the mainstream. In 2014, Kardashian wore a pearl-covered mini dress from Rousteings fall 2012 collection to her Parisian bachelorette, a moment that had a significant impact on Balmains cultural street cred. It also helped to create the Balmain Army, the name associated with the following that soon materialized around Rousteing and the brand, inspired by Rousteings armor-adjacent designs.

Kardashian in Balmain at her bachelorette party in May 2014. | Neil Mockford/GC Images/Getty Images

In 2015, Rousteing became the latest designer to design a collaboration collection with H&M, which featured pieces inspired by Rousteings first few seasons with Balmain. The collaboration was a huge hit, with fans sleeping on the streets to get an opportunity to shop the pieces, which sold out in just hours.

During his time at Balmain, Rousteing was always moving the brand forward. Not long after joining the house, he facilitated the opening of the first Balmain stores outside of Paris and, in 2019, he presented couture as a guest designer on the schedule (and acted as the guest couturier for Jean Paul Gaultiers fall/winter 2022 haute couture collection). In 2023, he launched Balmain beauty and fragrance with Este Lauder, expanded the brands accessories category, and co-designed a collection with Beyonc.

It wasnt always easy. In his 2019 documentary Wonder Boy, Rousteing opened up about his adoption and the search for his birth parents. In 2021, the designer suffered an at-home accident, which left him severely burned. The incident inspired his spring 2022 collection, which featured gauzy bandage dresses. My last show was about the celebration of healing over pain, he said on Instagram . I remember when they took out all my bandages it felt [like] FREEDOM.

A look from Balmain spring 2022. | Photo by Dominique Charriau/WireImage

Rousteing completely transformed Balmain from a quiet, ivory tower fashion house to a cultural phenomenon. In that same time, Rousteing grew from a 25-year-old kid to a celebrity designer working with some of the biggest names in the world. Of course, the question now is, who will attempt to fill Rousteings shoes and what will he do next? Though he has experienced a lifetime of milestones, Rousteing is only 40, and therefore, likely has a lot of creativity left in him.

Source: W Magazine

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