As the creative director for Balmain, Olivier Rousteing took an aristocratic house and turned it into a household name.

With lots of collaborations under his belt including L’oreal Paris, Nike and H&M, Rousteing has made the idea of partnership a profitable art form. Having had all this major success, what more could he do to catapult Balmain even further into the stratosphere? Why, you collab with one of the biggest opera companies in Paris of course. This, in fact, is the Paris Opera Ballet, which is the oldest national ballet company. When choreographer Sebastien Bertaud reached out to Rousteing to help design the wardrobe for his new ballet Renaissance, Rousteing jumped at the chance. Of course when you think of their past collaborations with designers like Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Lacroix, Coco Chanel, and even Pierre Balmain himself, why wouldn’t you want to follow in those fabulous footsteps?

The wardrobe is set to be emblematic of the Olivier for Balmain aesthetic. Having utilized the motifs from his “Faberge” inspired fall 2012 collection, crystal and pearl embroidery will grace everything from tights to cropped jackets. Many of the garments, though are adjusted in order to be more dance accessible.  “Obviously when you dress Beyoncé or Rihanna, it’s not the same movement,” Rousteing told British Vogue. After the adjustments, most of the garments are still quite heavy, which lead Sebastien Bertaud to take action and train all 22 dancers to move in the heavily embroidered costumes.

With the frenzy of press and anticipation surrounding this collaboration, the true vindication will be seeing the costumes hit center stage. It will truly be a sight watching the spectacular array of crystals and sequins sparkle under the lights. The Balmain x Opera de Paris partnership will possibly be a historic one, securing Rousteing’s tenure at Balmain one that will be remembered for being synonymous with high quality and diversity.