Balmain was founded in 1945 by Pierre Balmain. From the outset, Monsieur Balmain’s boldly feminine and opulent signature style offered a startling contrast to the utilitarian looks of the day, creating a distinctive, super-feminine DNA for the house and quickly transforming the Parisian house into a favorite of both European and Hollywood royalty.

In 2011, Olivier Rousteing was named Creative Director and successfully grafted an immediately recognizable style upon Balmain. 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.