Balmain - My City of Lights
A virtual journey into the mind of one of fashion’s most radical creative directors
When Olivier Rousteing was appointed as the new creative director of Balmain, he became the youngest designer to lead a Parisian fashion house in more than 60 years. Since then, Rousteing has consistently challenged fashion norms. His willingness to embrace innovative collaborations and technology has not only revitalised the Balmain label but also played a crucial role in his mission to democratise across the fashion industry as a whole.
During an explorative discussion around potential projects, virtual reality emerged as a creative canvas he was genuinely excited to explore.
At that point, most fashion houses had only used virtual reality to offer people a glimpse into a world they wouldn’t normally be able to see – such as a runway show. However, we wanted to push the technology further to create something that had never been done before, something that would only be possible with VR.
Created in collaboration with the award-winning visual effects studio MPC, My City of Lights takes viewers on a virtual journey into Rousteing’s mind. It presents a metaphorical dreamscape that brings to life the emotional process he goes on when designing a new collection.
Inspired by an interview with Rousteing, My City of Lights translates his emotional and creative process into a series of surreal virtual environments. During this journey, viewers are guided by an intimate 3D soundscape, which combines interview snippets, soundbites and poetry performed by Rousteing to create the impression of being inside his mind.
As a fashion brand, it was also essential for Balmain that the physical experience was as carefully crafted as the virtual one. So Rousteing himself worked with Oculus to design a unique couture headset. This first-of-its-kind collaboration ensured that My City of Lights was a luxury experience both inside and out.
My City of Lights was originally launched as part of Salone Del Mobile (Milan Design Week) in the newly opened Balmain store. To host the experience, we built a custom installation. Inspired by the dreamscapes within the VR, it was designed to similarly blur the boundaries between the physical and virtual worlds.
In just four days, it had 3.5M+ social impressions and an exclusive feature on Vogue.com. Following its Milan debut, the experience has now toured Europe, North America and Asia.
In September, My City of Lights found its biggest audience yet when Rousteing made the decision to even incorporate it into his SS19 show. Produced in partnership with Oculus, the virtual experience, which was inspired by his creative process, perfectly set the stage for him to then unveil his latest collection as a groundbreaking 360º live broadcast.
