Beyoncé teams up with Balmain creative director Olivier Rousteing on a groundbreaking 17-piece couture capsule, celebrating the singer’s seventh studio album.
Beyoncé, renowned for her commanding stage presence, is now making waves in the fashion industry as the new Queen of Balmain. On Wednesday, the iconic performer revealed a 17-piece couture collection for Balmain, co-designed with the label’s creative director, Olivier Rousteing, and her stylist, Marni Senofonte.
The collection, characterized by its bold and avant-garde pieces, draws direct inspiration from the 16 tracks of Beyoncé’s acclaimed Renaissance album. Rousteing shared with Vogue that the designs emerged from his emotional response to the music, saying, “I was sketching and sketching as I listened… I started to imagine the sketches inside her album, how they would relate to the songs and the lyrics—it wasn’t something I was supposed to be doing but I was just inspired by the music to do it. And that’s how this started.”
In a mere five months, Beyoncé and her creative team transformed the vision into reality, marking a significant milestone in fashion history. “This appears to be the first time that a Black woman has overseen the couture offering from a historic Parisian house,” Rousteing noted. “And those designs were created in partnership with the first Black man to ever oversee all the collections at a historic Parisian house.”
Fans had been subtly teased with hints of Beyoncé’s new role in the fashion world. At the 2023 Grammy Awards, where she became the most awarded artist in the show’s history, she sported the “Virgo’s Groove” design—a sculptural mauve rose velvet gown paired with a metal hat inspired by vintage Balmain. Similarly, her virtual appearance at the BRIT Awards featured the “Pure/Honey” design—a black-and-white sequin jumpsuit with a latex corset bodice, furry sleeves, and a zebra-printed headpiece.
In an Instagram post celebrating her Vogue France cover, Beyoncé expressed her gratitude: “Thank you @olivier_rousteing and @balmain for bringing RENAISSANCE to life in couture. Designing alongside you was freeing — thank you for allowing me to celebrate the human form, to take artistic risks, to push boundaries and to freely express myself.”
This unique collection comes shortly after Beyoncé’s departure from Adidas, where she relaunched her Ivy Park brand in 2019. According to the Hollywood Reporter, there were “major creative differences between Ivy Park and Adidas,” with her last collection for the brand released in February.
Beyoncé’s collaboration with Balmain is not just a fashion statement; it’s a testament to her creative prowess and influence, solidifying her legacy both in music and haute couture.