One Night In Paris

Emirates Woman jetted to Paris for a private party at the trendy club: Les Bains, to celebrate Olivier Rousteing’s exclusive Balmain collection for mytheresa.com. The 33-year-old creative director of Balmain and Kardashian bestie has re-interpreted 10 of his signature Balmain pieces for the German-based luxury fashion site. While Olivier, the youngest creative director in Paris since Yves Saint Laurent, dances charismatically to the camera and occasionally stops to pose with his supermodel guest, Natalia Vodianova and his #BalmainArmy, it’s clear why the charming designer, who has been at the helm of the French fashion house for the past six years, has evolved the brand into the socially iconic label that it is today. Here, Olivier discusses how music influences his work, his reputation as a ‘disrupter’ and why he’s looking forward to a quiet Christmas in his hometown of Bordeaux in the south-west of France.

- Carmel Harrison

You re-interpreted 10 signature styles for this exclusive capsule collection for mytheresa. com. What was your inspiration and what would you say is your favourite piece for the holiday season?

All of these hold a special memory for me, so it is really impossible to pick a certain favourite from this small group. It was hard enough to specify just these 10! My team and I put so much time and effort into each collection, but, of course, there’s always one or two specific pieces that always stay with me, even years after I first showed them on the runway. They’ve helped embody a spirit and often served as the first of a whole series of looks that were later built upon that one particular look. These are all looks whose power managed to last more than a single season, often inspiring several distinct iterations.

The theme of the collection and the MytheresaxBalmain event is disco/party. You are famous for working with a lot of musicians for the House. What does music mean to you personally and how do you see this in your work?