Olivier Rousteing: The Black French Designer Revolutionizing Luxury Fashion with Joy and Boldness

2024-01-20 21:49:06

Published on: 01/20/2024 – 10:49 p.m. Modified on: 01/20/2024 – 10:47 p.m.

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The French designer, who now wears long, braided hair, summarized his approach in a teasing video in three words, on everyone’s lips: “I want to be him” (“I want to be him” in French), to silhouettes that he thought were irresistible.

On African trap, around fifty models, almost all racialized and mostly black, revisited the classics of African clothing in a glamorous version, from the racing bag, here in full gold, to the second-hand clothes.

The men wore face jewelry, tribal version, golden filament placed vertically on the central edge. And the shoes were high-heeled, varnished and shiny.

In the recurring patterns of the tops all in rhinestones and gold, right down to the painted metal shirt, the mouth and lips, scarlet and uninhibited, make the outfits suave and sensual.

Naomi Campbell (53), fashion muse of the 1990s, appeared in black pants, a low-cut top and an oversized camel coat, hair down to her hips, a bouquet of flowers sculpted in gold metal at her belt.

On the eve of the end of a Fashion Week which lined up very wise, classic, timeless, wearable men’s winter looks, synonymous with “quiet luxury” (discreet luxury, one of the latest fashion trends), Olivier Rousteing he is clearly distinguished by his bold, committed and flamboyant approach.

“Bring joy”

“I’m lucky, because it’s become rare today. Designers are afraid of taking risks. It’s a shame, because it’s the risks that make the history of fashion,” declared elsewhere the creator to the newspaper Le Monde on Saturday.

“People sometimes say that my fashion is light, but I want to bring joy. I don’t want to be the spokesperson for torment,” he added.

At 38 years old, including twelve as artistic director of Balmain, Olivier Rousteing was able to transform the fashion show of this French luxury house, known in a restricted circle, into an unmissable event for fashionistas.

The popularity of one of the rare black or mixed-race creators in the world of luxury took a turn after the broadcast in 2019 of the documentary “Wonder Boy” (viewable on Netflix), in which he splits the armor and recounts the quest from his natural mother.

Born under X, of Ethiopian and Somali origin, he was adopted by a Bordeaux family and has since overcome several challenges.

In 2021, he confided on Instagram that he had been seriously burned a year earlier in the explosion of his chimney. And having hidden it out of “shame”, in an environment where “obsession with perfection” reigns.

In mid-September, for his last show, the beloved child of French fashion experienced a big scare, when a van carrying pieces from the collection was robbed between Roissy airport and the house’s headquarters, in the capital, by armed people who fled with 50 of its pieces.

In this case, six men aged “around twenty years old” were arrested in the Paris suburbs, mainly in Seine-Saint-Denis, this week. They will be presented before the Bobigny court on Tuesday.

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