‘My City of Lights’ transports viewers into the world of Balmain on a virtual journey through the mind of its renowned creative director Olivier Rousteing.

The VR experience brings to life Rousteing’s creative process as a series of surreal and visually spectacular environments. Each space is designed to trigger a different reaction, which recreates his emotional journey – from his anxiety before starting a collection through to his elation when showcasing it on the runway.

To elevate the virtual experience, we worked directly with Rousteing and Oculus to create a unique Balmain headset; providing viewers with a luxury window into Rousteing’s impossible world.

We identified the opening of Balmain’s first Milan store as the perfect opportunity to premiere the experience. Not only was it the launch of a new flagship store, but it also coincided with Milan Design Week; creating a must-see destination during one of Europe’s biggest cultural events.

Olivier Rousteing is incredibly inspired by technology and was excited by the potential of VR to connect with Balmain’s global fan base – known as his ‘Balmain Army’. At the same time, we wanted to push the technology and do something that was only possible in virtual reality.

So we decide upon the idea of offering people a window into Rousteing’s creative process – like never before.

We started by interviewing Rousteing. We wanted to uncover what he experienced when designing a collection; less what he does, but more what he thinks and feels. Once we understood his emotional journey, we set out to reimagined it as a series of highly-visual VR environments.

Each space was designed to flow into the next, but with a distinct architectural and visual style. The aesthetic was drawn directly from the interviews and Rousteing’s iconic style, which fuses traditional beauty with bold and modern design.

From a series of conceptual architectural drawings, the spaces were first modelled in traditional 3d packages, then geometry data was brought into Unreal Engine to add dynamic effects such as volumetric light, animated fire, and shattering simulations, all of which contributed to the dramatic sense of scale and atmosphere in the experience.

Interactive sound studio Res.Lab also transformed his interview into an ambisonic 3D soundscape that guides people through their journey. This result feels both epic and intimate.

To elevate the experience, we worked directly with Rousteing and Oculus to create a unique Balmain headset. We also built a bespoke installation within the store to blur the boundaries between the luxury and virtual worlds.

My City of Lights opened in Milan on 16 April 2018. Within the first three days, the experience had over 1,000 visitors, as well as over 7.5M+ social impressions and an exclusive article on Vogue.com.