Jean Paul Gaultier told Olivier Rousteing to follow his institution for his guest collection

Jean Paul Gaultier advised Olivier Rousteing to follow his institution for his guest collection.

The Balmain creative director – who is a favourite of Kim Kardashian, Alessandra Ambrosio and Bella and Gigi Hadid – was told to be “just be yourself” by the 70-year-old design legend when he was given the reins to the brand for a one-off collaboration.

The 36-year-old fashion designer told WWD: “This collaboration helped me to understand who I am without Balmain. My femininity here is different than at Balmain. My girl is more tough.”

Olivier wanted to leave the “party” vibes from Balmain behind and focus less on “glamour”.

He said: “I don’t think glamour will be the word that you will use for this collection.”

The fashionista labelled Jean Paul in the same league as fashion legends such as Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent.

Olivier said: “As a designer, he was really inspirational because he was one of the few designers that could be a creative director, but also iconic, known around the world and popular. His face was as known as his clothes.”

Olivier gushed about how he believes that the creator of Madonna’s cone bra paved the way for the wave of “inclusivity” currently washing through the industry.

He said: “Today we are talking about inclusivity; we are talking about gender; we are talking about binaries; we’re saying that a man can dress as a woman and a woman can dress as a man; about the freedom to be who you want to be without the judgement of society. And clearly Jean Paul Gaultier did that way before all of us. We talk about inclusivity and diversity. Look at his first shows!”