Back in November 2025, after a transformative 14-year stint, Olivier Rousteing stepped down as the creative director of Balmain. Fast forward eight months, and the Bordeaux-born French fashion designer is appointed the creative director of Rabanne. The news comes after Julien Dossena parted ways with the brand in June. Building on Paco Rabanne’s radical and rich legacy, Rousteing will lead the next phase of the brand’s development across fashion, bringing his own unique vision to the house. “Let this beautiful journey begin,” said Rousteing, who will present his first collection for Rabanne during Paris Fashion Week in March 2027.
Olivier Rousteing Appointed Creative Director of Rabanne
Read below the reactions of theFashionSpot’s forum members:
“Its the move no one expected but at the same time everyone would welcome. If he puts the work in and brings unapologetic glam, Rabanne will go off.” [tourbillions]
“I wish him the best of luck. Always had a soft spot for him. Even my personal style is the total opposite of his design language.” [FashionFanatico]
“Rabanne does need a bit of shine in the spotlight. I wish him luck.” [PierreGotha]
“This is going to be tacky as hell, but I think that might just be what Rabanne needs. The key here is really going to be well merchandised collections and an iconic bag.” [LadyJunon]
“I’m a little worried about his interpretation of perfume bottles in his designs. [At Rabbane], he has a wide selection to work with.” [GIVENCHYlover]
“They’ll try to benefit from his celebrity connections to bring some customers to them and amplify the brand perception. It will eventually (give it a couple years) fail miserably, and the only thing he’ll manage to do is bridge the RTW image with the perfume image because it’ll be the same level of tacky.” [Thefrenchy]
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