Olivier Theyskens

Theyskens was born to a Belgian chemical engineer and a French homemaker. Theyskens attended École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Visuels de la Cambre in October 1994 to study fashion design.[1] He dropped out in 1997 to start his own label.[2][3] Theyskens submitted pieces from his collection, “Gloomy Trips” to a Belgian group show. Stylist Arianne Phillips saw photographs of his works and dressed Madonna in one of Theyskens’ black satin coatdresses for the 1998 Academy Awards.[4] André Leon Talley listed the dress as one of his favorite Oscar dresses of all time.[5]

Theyskens presented his first full collection in Paris in 1998.[6] The collection was a deconstruction of eighteenth-century style that reworked traditional French fabrics.[4] His spring 1999 collection was featured on Vogue’s list of “25 Most Unforgettable Runway Shows of the ‘90s.”[7] By fall 2000, Vogue reported that “Theyskens has established himself as one of the most powerful creative personalities in fashion.”[8] That same year, he won the Venus de la Mode award.[9] The collection he presented in Fall 2001 “was undoubtedly one of the strongest, most brilliant collections of the season” according to Vogue.[10] Theyskens' line continued until 2002.[11]

Theyskens became creative director of Rochas in 2002 and presented his first collection for the House of Rochas in 2003[1] where he created an "entirely new silhouette for the house" that was French-influenced and elegant. In 2003, Theyskens designed costumes for Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie[2] including costumes for Verdi's opera I due Foscari.[12] Theyskens received the Star Award by the Fashion Group International at its 22nd Annual Night of Stars Gala in 2005.[13] In July 2006, Rochas' parent company Procter & Gamble announced the discontinuation of Rochas' fashion division[6] because it was the only fashion business in the company and Procter & Gamble did not have the resources or skills to continue production of ready-to-wear fashion.[14] In 2006, the Council of Fashion Designers of America awarded Theyskens the International Award.[6][15]

In November 2006, he became artistic director at Nina Ricci[1] where his focus shifted to a younger, more casual level of dressing. His collections for the House of Nina Ricci were met with critical acclaim.[16][17] In fall 2009, Theyskens left Nina Ricci and was replaced by Peter Copping, formerly creative director of Louis Vuitton.[18]

Theory CEO Andrew Rosen tapped Theyskens to design a capsule collection for Theory in spring 2010. Theyskens was named artistic director of the company in October 2010. In June 2014, he left Theory to pursue other design projects.[19][16][20] His last collection for Theory was pre-spring 2015.[21][22]

In 2010, Assouline Publishing released a retrospective look at Theysken’s work, “The Other Side of the Picture,” which was the culmination of a 10-year collaboration with art photographer Julien Claessens.[15]

His creations have been worn by Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, Reese Witherspoon, Emma Watson, Diane Kruger, Greta Gerwig, Felicity Jones, Jennifer Aniston, Mylene Farmer and Kirsten Dunst.[19][6][15]

• A MAGAZINE curated by
• Olivier Theyskens at FMD