Nothing stops fashion, especially not an attack and theft. Last September, around fifty pieces by designer Olivier Rousteing were stolen during a transfer between Roissy airport and the fashion house’s headquarters in Paris. Armed men attacked the vehicle which was transporting pieces planned for a parade four days later. And yet the presentation of the collection was able to take place with the creation of new pieces in record time. This event caused a lot of noise, due to its unprecedented nature but also due to the questions surrounding this theft of parts that were very difficult to sell on a parallel market.
Six people were arrested in connection with this case, AFP learned on Wednesday from a police source. Men aged “in their twenties” were arrested Tuesday morning in the Paris suburbs, mainly in Seine-Saint-Denis, said this source, confirming information from the women’s magazine She. The investigation is entrusted to the Seine-Saint-Denis judicial police.
“A team was identified, which made it possible to trace internal complicity within the carrier,” the police source told AFP. The employee of a subcontracting company is among those arrested.
A random target?
Several Balmain pieces were found during home searches, leading investigators to believe that the luxury house’s collection was not targeted as such.
“If it had been a precise and specific order, the parts would have been sold. They made a cargo theft unbalanced “, estimated the police source, adding that the suspects were “not their first attempt. »
Following this unprecedented affair in the fashion world, the Balmain team worked “day and night” to remake the lost pieces. The parade, exuberant and flowery, was able to be held as planned nine days later at the Chaillot theater with a view of the Eiffel Tower.
At 38 years old, including twelve as artistic director of Balmain, Olivier Rousteing was able to transform the fashion show of this French luxury house, known in a restricted circle, into an unmissable event for fashionistas.