BEYONCE’ the world’s number one megastar and BALMAIN, one of the top fashion houses in Paris, has collaborated for a capsule collection launched this week. OLIVIER ROUSTEING, the designer for the label said the whole thing started when he was commissioned to design the outfits worn by Beyonce’ and her crew of dancers and musicians to perform at Coachella. When Beyonce’ saw how much the dancers loved the on-stage looks, she and Olivier began brainstorming. They decided to collaborate on a collection that would benefit a charity and give the fans a chance to get something from two superstars of music and fashion. The proceeds of this collection will go to the United Negro College Fund. This comes on the heels of Beyonce’s generous donation of $100,000. to four historically Black colleges, after her Coachella performances.

CAPSULE COLLECTION

Olivier said that the donation was the true goal of this collaboration. The pieces in the collelction were inspired by the marching band uniforms of America’s historically Black colleges and universities. The three piece capsule collection feature the pink and yellow embellished sweat-shirt hoodies, worn by Beyonce’ one on each night of her appearance at Coachella. Also included in the line are the fierce logo Ts. Olivier said that himself and Beyonce’ worked very hard to make the `Beyonce’ x Balmain’ collection come to life. “Beyonce’ – she is such a perfectionist, she’s someone that is so strong and has such a great point of view,” he told vogue.com. “She’s about feminisim, empowering women, and the idea of bringing that collaboration where we can share the same ideas, the same vision of music, the same vision of fashion, the same vision of what is going on in the world, it’s more than just clothes. It’s a strong message and I’m very proud to be a part of that.”

OLIVIER PRAISES BEYONCE’

Olivier Rosteing emphasized the largeness of the project, citing the background of where he came from and Beyonce’ being rooted in her culture. “We forget where we come from. This project is extremely important to me. I come from an orphanage, you know. I think there is something really emotional about our collaboration.” Olivier said that Beyonce, as a global success with her message of standing against racism and standing up for women as something he wishes he had grown up in France. “This to me feels really emotional because as you know I am of mixed race. I’m black and my parents are white. I grew up in France without having a real identification of being black and being an adult. I couldn’t see myself in the future, in a way, because there were not so many people in the 80s and early 90s that could show me a direction.”

HOPE AND DREAM

“For me working with Beyonce’ is more than only music. It’s about history, working with a woman that’s going to be a part of the history and has made her own revolution, not only in music, not only in fashion. She is an icon to an entire generation and so many more generations can follow the steps of Beyonce’ and say `You give us hope, you make us dream.'”

Beyonce x Balmain is available at Balmain flagship store in Paris, and from July 14, on line and at select retailers.