A little over a month after Olivier Rousteing celebrated his 15th anniversary as creative director at Balmain —and the 80th anniversary of the maison’s founding— he is stepping down . The French designer was just 25 and working at Balmain under Christophe Decarnin who had transformed the business with his power shoulders and ultra-short hemlines, when he was announced as his successor in 2010. It was a lot of pressure for Rousteing, whose appointment made him the first Black designer to helm a French luxury house. But his debut collection proved he was more than up to the task; his low-slung trousers and opulently embroidered cropped boxy jackets became the cool girl uniform overnight, keeping Balmain’s signature sex appeal while softening its more extreme edges and making it more

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