“By celebrating where we come from, we can clearly see where we are headed.” That line has always strongly resonated with Creative Director Olivier Rousteing. For the past decade, he has built upon the house of Balmain’s legacy while pulling from his own extraordinary personal journey. A journey now chronicled in the up-close-and-personal documentary “Wonder Boy”. Directed and produced by Anissa Bonnefont, “Wonder Boy” is now available for streaming worldwide on Netflix.

Just twenty-five years old when he was named Creative Director in 2011, Olivier Rousteing has successfully grafted an immediately recognizable style upon Balmain. While relying on the house’s rich archives for inspiration and fully utilizing the atelier’s impressive mastery of intricate, traditional couture techniques, Rousteing has also managed to impose a singular silhouette and contemporary outlook that reflect the way that members of the “Balmain Army”—the young men and women of the designer’s own generation—live their lives. Season after season, runways highlight both the exciting, inclusive diversity of the modern Balmain universe and the importance of 21st-Century culture—in particular, today’s music—in that universe.

Music is an integral element of Balmain’s singular style. As Olivier Rousteing explains, “for me, it’s impossible to separate fashion from music. That’s just how my generation grew up—we cannot conceive of one without a full helping of the other.”

Balmain’s offerings are always closely linked to music—its melodies inspire Rousteing, its beats push him forward at each step of the creative process, its messages often become key component of collections and Rousteing’s favorite artists are often the focus of campaigns.

When Olivier Rousteing first heard Kanye West’s hauntingly beautiful Wolves, he knew he had to use it for his campaign. Kanye was quickly on board with the idea.
They teamed up with Steven Klein and a contingent of Balmain Army members, spending two days on a truly creative collaboration—mixing dance, music, lyrics, photography and fashion in a new way that reflected the unique, inclusive and modern aspects of today’s Balmain.

Balmain is a fashion pioneer in establishing new ways to directly communicate with its followers and customers.
One very popular pathway has been via social media. As Olivier Rousteing has explained multiple times, reaching out to his Balmain Army digitally offers him a new manner to converse honestly and immediately to those who are interested in knowing more about Balmain, the collections and Rousteing himself—removing any need for filters or middlemen.
Balmain’s new entertainment-based communication strategy, Wonderlabs, builds upon this successful communication strategy.

As Olivier Rousteing and his team worked on the rebirth of Balmain’s accessory collection, they trained their focus on three distinct sources of inspiration: the house’s singular history and rich archives, the Balmain atelier’s continuing mastery of traditional couture techniques, and the new, immediately recognizable style that Rousteing had given to the house.
The result is a truly Balmain collection, relying on nothing but the finest materials, craftsmen and design for each of its distinct lines.

This campaign relies on images that Olivier Rousteing captured while spending two long days and one never-ending night, wandering across the city that so inspires him.
Beginning at 44, rue François Premier—Balmain’s historic home—and trekking from arrondissement to arrondissement, Rousteing photographed his diverse and strong Balmain Army as they passed some of the most iconic addresses of the Ville Lumière