Olivier Rousteing Is the New Creative Director of Rabanne

You can’t keep Olivier Rousteing away from the runway for too long. Less than a year after he departed Balmain, Roustein has been announced as the new creative director of Rabanne. His first show will take place in March 2027 during the fall/winter 2027 season at Paris Fashion Week. The designer celebrated the news on his Instagram on Tuesday morning with a photo of a hand gripping a swath of Rabanne’s famous metal paillette treatment with the caption, “A new era.”

“Joining Rabanne is a tremendous honor,” Rousteing said in a statement. “This is a house that has always challenged convention, transforming bold ideas into creations that have shaped fashion history. Its spirit of innovation, craftsmanship, and fearless creativity has inspired generations, and today it inspires me.”

The news comes after Julien Dossena exited the house last month after 13 years. Rousteing, meanwhile, has been without a job since last November when he left his post at Balmain, a position he held for 14 years. While there, Rousteing returned Balmain to a place on the cultural landscape. His armor-like designs and A-List following inspired the term, “Balmain Army,” while his relationship with Beyoncé allowed for more headline-making fashion moments. Most recently, Rousteing dressed the singer for the 2026 Met Gala in a jewel-encrusted skeletal gown.

Born in Bordeaux in 1985, Rousteing moved to Paris to study at Ecole Supérieure des Arts et Techniques de la Mode. His career started at Roberto Cavalli in 2003, and he remained there for five years before moving to Balmain in 2009. After working under the French house’s then-creative director, Christophe Decarnin, for two years, Rousteing was promoted to creative director in 2011. He was just 25 years old, making him the youngest replacement designer to lead a major Paris fashion house since Yves Saint Laurent took over Dior. The appointment was also the first Black designer to lead a French house ever.

But his journey wasn’t always easy. Rousteing was adopted, and in his 2019 documentary Wonder Boy, he opened up about his search for his birth parents. In 2021, the designer suffered an accident at home, which left him severely burned. While extremely traumatic, the incident would go on to inspire his spring 2022 collection for Balmain, which featured gauzy bandage dresses. “My last show was about the celebration of healing over pain,” he said on Instagram. “I remember when they took out all my bandages it felt [like] FREEDOM.”

There were many highs, of course. According to Vogue, Rousteing increased Balmain’s annual revenue tenfold, from €30.4 million in 2012 to an estimated €300 million in 2024. He became a go-to for celebrities like Rihanna and Kim Kardashian, dressing the latter for her 2014 bachelorette in Paris. His 2015 collaboration with H&M had shoppers sleeping on the street ahead of its launch in anticipation, with the collection selling out in mere hours. He also facilitated the opening of the first Balmain stores outside of Paris and, in 2019, he presented couture as a guest designer on the schedule (and acted as the guest couturier for Jean Paul Gaultier’s fall/winter 2022 haute couture collection). In 2023, he launched Balmain beauty and fragrance with Estée Lauder, expanded the brand’s accessories category, and co-designed a collection with Beyoncé. Surely, Rabanne’s parent company, Puig, is hoping he brings some of this enthusiasm, cultural impact, and celebrity knowledge to his new gig.

“Olivier Rousteing’s creative vision is bold, magnetic, and deeply connected to the energy of today,” said Ana Trias, president of prestige and fashion brands for Puig. “His unique ability to create fashion that celebrates confidence, and self-expression makes him a natural choice for Rabanne. With Olivier, we are opening a new chapter for the House.”