Since its inception in 1946, Balmain has been revered as one of the most dynamic and creative of the French fashion houses. Naturally, when Olivier Rousteing took over as creative director in 2011 his appointment was met with both optimism and skepticism. Since then, he has opened up the house to the millennial consumer in a manner that has shaped the way brands of that age speak to influencers and the young market. For 2019, Rousteing and the brand plan to take things to the next level with new stores, a documentary, new branding, and the use of virtual reality.

Just before Art Basel kicked off in Miami Beach, Balmain cut the ribbon on a 2,200-square-foot flagship in Bal Harbour on Collins Avenue. Later this month they’re set to open a 1,500 square-foot boutique at the Wynn Plaza on the Las Vegas strip. These store openings are part of a global expansion leading up to a landmark flagship opening on Rue Saint Honore in Paris in early 2019. With the plan to open several more flagships in the next few years, equipped with different VR elements, the Balmain team set a cap at 50 in order to keep the numbers small and focus on “how to engage with the new generation of customers.”

 And that’s where Olivier Rousteing comes in. A millennial whisperer of sorts, Rousteing opened the brand up to a younger audience when he tapped muses like Rihanna and the Kardashian/Jenner camp for his campaigns. Perhaps because he’s a millennial himself, Rousteing is a creative director who seems to truly understand what this consumer sector wants. This, along with his quick rise to fashion acclaim, is the catalyst for a documentary about the young designer. He told WWD that the film is due for release in 2019 but the distribution channels are still unconfirmed.

Earlier this year Rousteing dressed 16 actresses during the Cannes Film Festival for a project that translates to “Black Is Not My Profession,” in order to bring awareness to issues of discrimination in the French and American entertainment industries.

“[This] touches me because being coloured doesn’t have to define you. I know that sometimes people don’t like to talk about it, but I think it’s a good to be loud about some things in order to push the future,” he said.

All of this comes during a huge rebranding for the historic house, which debuted its new contemporary logo last week. The design was created by Adulte Adulte, according to Business of Fashion, and includes an additional stroke in the lettering to include both the B and P (for Balmain Paris as well as for Pierre Balmain). Fans of the brand are still weighing in on their feelings about the new branding, which Rousteing has already included in his Pre-Fall 2019 collection.

Snarky social media account Diet Prada wasted no time pointing out that it looked like a direct knockoff of the logo of Laura Biagiotti, a womenswear designer whose house was founded in Rome in 1972, and continues to produce gorgeous feminine collections today.