LABEL LOVER

OLIVIER THEYSKENS

In 1997 Olivier Theyskens dropped out of fashion school in Brussels and launched his eponymous label. He gained global attention the following year when Madonna arrived at the Academy Awards dressed in a satin coat dress from his first collection. Theyskens was just 21. He joined Rochas in 2002 as creative director and was crowned international designer of the year in 2006 by the Council of Fashion Designers of America. In November 2006 he joined Nina Ricci as artistic director. Theyskens moved to the United States in 2010 to take the helm of the American contemporary label Theory as artistic director. The Belgian wunderkind left in 2014 and returned to Paris, where he spent two years quietly working to relaunch his namesake collection for the spring/summer 2017 Paris Fashion Week. His first collection was, he said, “a return to the fundamentals.” His mastery of tailoring, dripping bias cuts and flowing gothic romance was applied to the everyday—from microchecked, fitted trench coats to perfectly tailoried versions of Le Smoking.