Cara Delevingne and Olivier Rousteing on Handbags, Friendship, and Their New Balmain Collaboration

Olivier Rousteing understands the power of influence. Throughout his tenure at Balmain, the designer’s approach to fashion has been marked by a keen understanding of online culture. Rousteing was among the first to harness the viral power of the Kardashian-Jenners, for instance, and this perspective also led him to his latest collaborator, Cara Delevingne. The British actress and muse has been a regular presence in the brand’s runway shows and campaign images, but she has moved to member of the design team: Delevingne worked on Balmain’s latest launch, a trio of handbags named Romeo, Twist, and the BBag. Made in black leather with striking metal hardware, the accessories merge Rousteing’s power-femme aesthetic and Delevingne’s nonchalant personal style into purses worthy of It-bag status.

For other brands, the age of limited-edition drops has meant a constant stream of collaborations, but Rousteing wanted to select the right partner for his. Due to their shared love of cinema, social media, and an affinity for futurism, Delevingne fit the bill. “You can’t collaborate with someone if there isn’t that friendship,” said Rousteing, on the phone from Paris. “At least for me there needs to be a camaraderie since my work is my life. I think I always had it in mind to work with Cara since the beginning, but things take time.” The gradual progression led to a back-and-forth brainstorming session, in which they communicated through text, emails, and meetings in Los Angeles or at Balmain’s Parisian atelier. Despite their busy schedules, the process was seamless due to their shared understanding of what the final product had to be. “I feel like I’ve known Olivier forever. The familiarity between us made it really easy to collaborate,” says Delevingne, who came to the table with a slew of references. “Once I saw Olivier’s ideas, I knew we were on the same page [and] that I only needed to give minimal feedback in order for it to be exactly what I had envisioned.”

Easily dressed up or down, the new bags correspond with Delevingne’s versatile take on fashion. Apt to switch from leather jackets and jeans during her off-duty moments to slinky little black dresses for parties and premieres, she’s an ideal representative for the duality of the modern wardrobe and the Balmain woman. “I needed someone that has a strong point of view, that knows how to dress, whatever she’s wearing,” says Rousteing. “Whether it’s sweatpants or a beautiful dress, at the end of day the girl that’s going to work with me can switch her style easily and still add a bag that is timeless.” Each bag offers a different take on that ideal: The boxy quilted BBag is a riff on the traditional quilted flap bag with a gold chain added for a touch of decadent luxury; Romeo’s spikes and studs deliver punk attitude, while the Twist plays up the canteen bag’s regimental origins.

Of course, creating a bag that feels classic is easier said than done. In an effort to find the sweet spot between functionality and beauty, the pair looked to the purpose handbags serve in the lives of their wearers. “A bag is something that is extremely personal,” says Rousteing. “You need to understand a woman’s life to understand her bag.” For Delevingne, who counts herself amongst those who’d be lost without their carryall, the accessory has to have a utilitarian purpose while serving as a form of expression. “They hold everything a person needs to make it through a day, a night, a trip,” says Delevingne. “What I like about the bags we did for this season and particularly next season, is that they are versatile. People can carry them to work and then out to dinner with friends without having to change.”

The first collection will debut with a series of videos that harness Delevingne’s acting skills. Inspired by virtual reality and on-demand platforms like Netflix, Rousteing wanted the marketing around the accessories to be experiential. “Of course we do portraits because they’re timeless, but video is so important today,” he says. “Cara has such great talent with acting, and I wanted to bring that strength into the campaign.” While he remains mum on whether the designer and muse partnership will grow to encompass more than just handbags, Rousteing promises that this is only the beginning. “When you create a collaboration, for me it’s never something that you just drop and afterward you stop,” says Rousteing. “For me it’s creating a universe that we can then share with the world.”