Olivier Rousteing Wants President Obama to Join the Balmain Army

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

To say that Olivier Rousteing dressed a lot of celebrities at Monday night’s Met Gala would be an understatement on par with claiming that Kim Kardashian has a lot of Instagram followers. Mrs. Kardashian West, of course, wore a mirrored silver Balmain gown, while her husband Kanye paired his Rousteing-designed embellished denim jacket with ripped jeans. Kylie Jenner and her boyfriend Tyga, both Met Gala first-timers, chose the label as well. So did mega-models Doutzen Kroes, Jourdan Dunn, Joan Smalls, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Cindy Crawford. All in, Rousteing dressed a whopping 13 stars for the gala — more than any other designer, by my count.

"Crazy, right?!" laughs the 30-year-old creative director when I mention this impressive feat moments after we meet. It’s Wednesday morning, and despite having created a dozen looks for the Met and hosted a star-studded after-party that stretched into Tuesday morning, he’s bursting with energy at the opening of Balmain’s new Manhattan flagship at 100 Wooster Street. "All my friends, all the people I love, were with me that night. Everyone who made my Balmain Army happen. It was amazing to see both Kylie and Cindy at my table — Kylie representing the new generation, Cindy representing the supermodel era."

And while she may have gone for Givenchy for Monday's red carpet, Beyoncé recently had a major Balmain moment of her own: During a segment of her Formation tour, which kicked off in Miami last week, she and her backup dancers storm the stage in identical white lace bodysuits by the brand. Rousteing names this as one of his proudest career moments to date. "It reminded me of Prince in Purple Rain," he says of the ruffled looks. "I loved dressing her for her tour because she kept the Balmain DNA and the richness of the brand, but she totally made it her own and added her own story."

So now that he’s outfitted everyone from Queen Bey to King Kylie, who’s Rousteing’s next Balmain Army recruit? "Barack Obama," he answers without hesitation. "I would love for him to wear one of my double-breasted jackets. That’s my dream. And you know what? Dreams can come true, so it might happen!" Frankly, considering Michelle Obama’s well-documented love of Alaïa and Givenchy, the idea of our POTUS donning a gold-buttoned Balmain blazer for his next mic-dropping moment doesn’t seem so far-fetched.