Balmain and Olivier Rousteing announce the end. Story by Eleonora de Gray, Editor-in-Chief of RUNWAY MAGAZINE. Photo Courtesy: Balmain / Francesca Beltran.

Paris, 5 November 2025 — The fashion house Balmain and its now-former Creative Director Olivier Rousteing have officially parted ways, ending a 14-year run that could best be described as… longer than it should have been.

Yes, the man once hailed as the prodigy who brought Instagram likes and emoji-filled captions to Parisian haute couture has finally exited the building. With a farewell speech longer than his original ideas list, Rousteing waxed poetic about his “love story” with Balmain, conveniently skipping the part where he recycled more silhouettes than a vintage shop in Brooklyn.

Let’s address the elephant in the showroom: why did it take so long? For years, fashion insiders whispered — and Runway Magazine shouted — about the cut-and-paste approach Rousteing adopted like it was a design philosophy. Let’s not forget his 2021 Cruise collection, a shameless pastiche of Karl Lagerfeld’s legacy for Chanel. Or 2020, when he played Frankenstein with vintage Mugler. And of course, the grand CTRL+C CTRL+V spectacle of Spring – Summer 2024, where viewers were left wondering if the collection was a tribute to copyright infringement itself.

(Receipts, as always: Balmain Cruise 2021 – Papa Copy Catto, CTRL+C CTRL+V – Spring Summer 2024, Balmain Resort 2025 – Halloween — and so many more.)

His defenders claimed he brought youth and inclusivity to a heritage brand. True. He included: Thierry Mugler, Jean Paul Gaultier, Daniel Roseberry for Schiaparelli, John Galliano for Dior and Maison Margiela, Chanel, and so many more into his vision of Balmain.

As for the official statements, we were treated to the usual round of executive haikus — everyone “grateful,” everyone “proud,” everyone “inspired.” In fact, if you look closely, you might see the same adjectives used in every Balmain press release since 2016.

Mayhoola CEO and Balmain Chairman, stated :
“I sincerely extend mγgratitude to Olivier
for his extraordinary contribution to Balmain.
Olivier’s visionary leadership has not only redefined
the boundaries of fashion but also inspired a
generation with bold creativity, unwavering authenticity, and commitment to inclusivity. We are immensely proud of all that has been achieved under his direction and look forward to seeing the next chapter of his journey unfold with the same brilliance and passion.”

So why did you let him go?????

Rachid Mohamed Rachid, Mayhoola CEO and Balmain Chairman, praised Rousteing’s “bold creativity.” One wonders if that’s code for his boldness in repackaging other designers’ archives as his own seasonal revolutions. Balmain by Rousteing became a never-ending loop of greatest hits that weren’t his.

Matteo Sgarbossa, CEO of Balmain, applauded Olivier’s “indelible mark” on fashion. And yes — much like a Sharpie on silk, it certainly won’t be forgotten, though many wish it could be removed.

Even Olivier’s own farewell struck the same chords: “eyes wide open,” “chosen family,” “extraordinary love story” — as if fashion was a Netflix series and he’d just been written off before Season 15. What he failed to mention, naturally, was the growing discomfort within the house — the whispers, and the slow, glacial realization that maybe, just maybe, it was time for the brand to regain its creative power, and find someone worth its founder Pierre Balmain.

So what’s next for Olivier Rousteing? A documentary? A memoir? A fragrance called CTRL-V? Perhaps a Netflix series titled The Copyist, starring himself — lovingly stitching together silhouettes borrowed from Cardin, Mugler, and a Rolodex of forgotten icons, pretending it’s all never been done before. Maybe he’ll finally admit the design process involved less sketching and more screen capturing — a Creative Suite fever dream where every season began not with inspiration but with Google Image Search.

Because let’s be honest — what was Rousteing actually doing at Balmain? From the moment he stepped in, it was a long, glamorous homage to designers past. The 2020 Resort collection? Vintage Mugler, reheated. The 2021 Cruise lineup? Chanel’s Yellow Sequin Scuba Jacket shown on Vogue Cover January 1991, replicated with zero irony — “Papa Copy Catto,” indeed. By 2023, he was building Gothic castles in the sky — literally — dressing models as haunted medieval dollhouses for Halloween (Balmain Resort 2025), as if Tim Burton moonlit as a stylist. And who could forget the 2024 collection, a brazen CTRL+C CTRL+V operation, where silhouettes, color palettes, and show notes all read like a glorified tribute band to Paris Fashion Week’s greatest hits?

Season after season, Rousteing turned Balmain into a showroom of déjà vu. Not evolution, but repetition. Not design, but remix. The house that once dressed post-war women in architectural glamour became a stage for digital-era costume play — loud, bedazzled, and painfully derivative.

And yet he stayed. For fourteen long years.

But finally — finally — the curtain has closed. Perhaps the mirrors are being taken down at Balmain HQ, out of shame. Perhaps the moodboards will once again include original sketches, not screenshots from an old Vogue. Perhaps the new creative organization will understand that legacy is not a snapshot of an old fashion magazine. It requires creativity. Taste. Memory. And yes — imagination.

As Olivier exits stage left, Balmain may just have a chance to reclaim its name — not as a social media brand, but as a fashion house.