It is no news that Disney has partnered with Balmain for a capsule collection tagged The Lion King to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the beloved namesake classic. In a recent Vogue interview, Oliver Rousteing, the creative director at Balmain revealed how deeply he drew from his African heritage as he spoke about the inspiration for the new collection.
When I watched The Lion King as a child, the message I saw was: choose your own destiny. Thirty (30) years ago, there wouldn’t be a collaboration [like this] with a Black designer because the reality in the French luxury world back then was that that person didn’t exist [within that world].
– Olivier explained.
He mentioned that the vision for the collection was clear to him from the beginning
The most important aspect of The Lion King is its origins, and that’s Africa.
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Although born and raised in France, Olivier’s biological parents come from Ethiopia and Somalia–information he learned while filming his documentary, Wonder Boy (2019). In that sense, he likens himself to Mufasa, the focal character of Disney’s upcoming Live Action film Mufasa: The Lion King, due to be released in December 2024.
In the new movie, we learn that Mufasa is an orphaned cub who rises up to become the king of the Pride Lands. I also have come from nowhere; I came from an orphanage and didn’t know my origin. I had to create my own kingdom, so the story resonates a lot for me.
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Credit: @voguemagazine