Olivier Rousteing: Balmain designer reveals fireplace explosion injuries

Celebrated French fashion designer Olivier Rousteing has revealed he was injured following an accident at his home last year, sharing a picture of himself in heavy bandages.

Rousteing, the creative director of fashion house Balmain, shared the news in an Instagram post on Saturday.

"Exactly a year ago, the fireplace inside my house exploded," he wrote.

He woke the next day at Paris's Hôpital Saint Louis, and has since been recovering from his wounds.

Rousteing said his insecurities and fashion's "obsession with perfection" stopped him from revealing all before now.

"To be honest I am not really sure why I was so ashamed," he wrote. As he recovered he hid his wounds with long sleeves and jewellery during interviews.

"Now, a year later - healed, happy and healthy," he wrote. He thanked the medical staff who had treated him despite "dealing with an incredible number of Covid cases at that same time", and spoke about how lucky he now feels.

"There is always the sun after the storm."

Rousteing took up his post as Balmain's creative director in 2011 at the age of just 25. According to a profile in Out Magazine the brand grew between 15% and 20% between 2012 and 2015.

He has opened boutiques in London and New York, the company's first outside Paris.

A 2019 Netflix documentary, Wonder Boy, looked at his career and followed him as he searched for his biological mother.