Celebrity-loved Balmain designer Olivier Rousteing is opening up about his recovery from a catastrophic fireplace explosion that happened one year ago to the day.
Rousteing, 36, posted a photo of himself on Instagram on Saturday showing him shortly after the explosion which left him severely injured and bandaged over much of his body.
“I finally feel ready to share this,” he wrote. “I’ve been hiding this for too long and it’s time for you to know. Exactly a year ago, the fireplace inside my house exploded. I woke up the next morning in Paris’ Hôpital Saint Louis.”
Rousteing praised “the talented staff at that famous hospital, which was dealing with an incredible number of COVID cases at that same time,” crediting them with taking “amazing care of me.”
“I cannot thank them enough.”
Rousteing said he “did everything to hide this story from as many people as possible and trying to keep the secret with my teams and friends for too long.” He admitted he isn’t “really sure” why he was so ashamed of what happened to him, suggesting it might have to do with “this obsession with perfection that fashion is known for and my own insecurities.”
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“As I recovered,” he wrote, “I just worked days and night to forget and creating all my collections, trying to keep the world dreaming with my collections and at the same time hiding the scars with face masks, turtlenecks, long sleeves and even multiple rings on all my fingers through many interviews or fotoshoots [sic].”
“I truly realized that the power of social media is to reveal only what you want to show!” The end result he said is that we can “create our own special narrative that avoids what we do not wish to see or show,” adding, “this is our new world.”
A year since the accident, Rousteing says he’s “healed, happy and healthy.”
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“I realize how truly blessed I am and I thank GOD everyday of my life.”
What he’s been through had a huge influence on his latest show for Balmain which also celebrated his 10 years helming the fashion house.
“My last show was about the celebration of healing over pain,” he said, thanking the models, his team, his “Balmain family”, and friends “that came and supported not only my 10 years of Balmain but my rebirth.”
“Today, I feel so free, so good and so lucky,” he said. “I’m beginning a new chapter with a smile on my face and a heart full of gratitude.”
The famed designer also posted photos and videos on his Instagram Story showing how he kept covered up over the past year to hide his burns.
Rousteing’s many celebrity fans and clientele showed support for him in the comments.
“I love you,” Kim Kardashian wrote. “God bless you 🙏🏽,” Cardi B added. “Sending so much love & blessings,” said La La Anthony. “Thankfully you are ok! What a scary moment,” Adriana Lima commented. “Sending so much love and thank you for sharing your story,” Lily Aldridge wrote. Tyson Beckford commented, “Bless up you’re still here and thriving my brother.”
