Olivier Rousteing Talks Fashion, Price Tags, and His Squad

Balmain for H&M doesn’t officially hit stores until November 5th, but the pearl-encrusted collaboration is as highly anticipated as ever—and Olivier Rousteing is not helping. “I think what is so exciting about this is that it’s so unique,” the designer teases. “I’m not going to do this twice. It’s something that’s going to happen to Balmain once.” For the once-in-a-lifetime collection (which will include tailored apparel for men and women in addition to an exclusive perfume), Rousteing enlisted Balmain Army members Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner, and Jourdan Dunn for a special campaign. “It’s all girls who I always believe in and they always believe in me,” he explains. “You know, when H&M came to Balmain and said, What is your vision? I was like, well, the clothes, but there is also an entire universe around my clothes and Kendall and Gigi and Jourdan are part of it.” Another aspect of the Balmain universe, of course, is luxury—even in the lower-priced collection. “What I learned from H&M is to find a way to make pieces less expensive and still look amazing,” Rousteing explains. “With Balmain, obviously we aren’t going to reach the H&M prices, but what actually we can try is to lower some embroideries and make it more accessible. I will try to find the right balance in my collection.” Until then, there’s always H&M.