This Sunday, Olivier Rousteing made a very disturbing announcement on his Instagram account, the artistic director of the Balmain fashion house revealed that around 50 pieces from his next fashion show, scheduled for September 27, were stolen on Saturday night, following an attack on the person responsible for delivering the pieces.
According to the brand, the theft took place during transport from Roissy airport to Balmain headquarters in Paris. The driver, a 32-year-old DHL employee, was on the RD88 road near Roissy airport when a vehicle blocked his path, not far from a traffic circle, and an investigation into “aggravated theft” was opened by the Seine-Saint-Denis judicial police.
Rousteing, describes the event as “exceptional”. In 2011, American designer Marc Jacobs had his entire collection stolen from a train between Paris and London, but after the show. For Balmain, however, this is the first time such a tragedy has befallen the luxury house. The number of pieces stolen was impressive, representing over 80% of the number of looks supposed to be presented at the show. The thieves made off with eleven packages of luxury clothes, containing a total of some fifty pieces. The value of the loss has not yet been determined.
Ten days before the show, the designer and his team, as well as his suppliers, were dealt a major blow. In addition to the financial damage caused by such a theft, the entire mechanics of a design studio and the factories that produce the garments have been put to the test. Despite this, Olivier Rousteing confirmed that the show would go ahead as planned. “It’s so unfair. My team and I have worked very hard. We will work harder, day and night, our suppliers will also work day and night, but it’s so disrespectful,” he lamented.
For Blenda Clerjon, the pieces are of no interest to thieves, “they’re obviously magnificent garments, if you’re familiar with the Balmain collections, there’s an expertise in embroidery, in embellishing the piece”. But it’s not considered a Balmain piece “if it wasn’t presented during Fashion Week. It has no value”, she asserts.