OLIVIER ROUSTEING: 'I'D RATHER BE HATED FOR WHO I AM, THAN LOVED FOR WHO I'M NOT'

He has Beyoncé on speed-dial and a social media army, but there's so much more to the Balmain designer, says Jane McFarland

- Jane McFarland

When Olivier Rousteing took over the house of Balmain 12 years ago, no one could have predicted he'd become one of the most influential and successful - fashion designers in the world. For starters, he was only 25 and relatively unknown, making him an unusual appointment in the notoriously elitist industry. Plus, he's a person of colour - also rare for a high-ranking creative at a luxury fashion house.

It's an imbalance Rousteing's now vocal about. "Twelve years ago, the industry was so racist," he says candidly, when we meet in London at his new Mount Street store. "What I'm happy about today is that many other designers are free to talk loudly about what they are going through. What I did wrong was to be silent, because I saw and heard things about colours, ethnicities, backgrounds that hurt me a lot. There would be like 500 people in a room and no one mentioned the lack of diversity. At the time I was thinking, 'Is there space for me here?"

The odds may have been against Rousteing when he was appointed, but he has more than carved out his niche. The Balmain aesthetic is tight, audacious, and leggy, trading in bombastic rhinestones, velvet, pearls, and leather. He didn't just sprinkle A-list stardust on the brand; as one of the first creative directors to embrace social media, he has redefined the term celebrity designer. Rousteing has weathered his fair share of criticism over the years (a 2016 New York Times article proclaimed his designs an acquired taste'), but he is having the last laugh - over the past decade, the company's profits have increased sevenfold.