Shoe blog

Happy Birthday Olivier Theyskens

Oliver Theyskens will have 33 candles on his birthday cake today.  Born to a Belgian engineer and  a French homemaker, he was always frustrated that girls always got to be princesses and wear skirts.  He started design school when he was 18, then quit to start his own line.  He had to close his label because he lacked sufficient funding.  He designed for the theater for a while, then was hired by Rochas as their creative director when he was 25.  His designs were praised as “nothing short of magnificent.”  However, he was notorious for being anti-capitalist in terms of his vision for Rochas. Theyskens asserted that he wanted to “stop global vulgarity”.  Not good if you want to stay in business.  Rochas announced it was closing it’s fashion division in 2006.

Nina Ricci then hired him and seemed to be doing well, designing clothing that was considered “the thing to watch.”   Nina Ricci did not renew his contract in 2009, shocking fashion critics.  These shoes were part of his last collection with Ricci.  Everyone was talking about them, no one ordered them.

Happy birthday, Oliver Theyskens.