You cannot keep a good designer down, and Olivier Theyskens is a good designer. While the Brussels-native has not released a new collection of his eponymous brand in a few seasons, he is returning to the fashion scene with a new house, Boloria, which will debut next year.
Theyskens teamed up with We Are One World, the Belgian events management company behind the EDM festival Tomorrowland, for this new endeavor. According to the press release, the label was “established with distinctly Belgian values,” specifically “sensitivity, integrity, emotional resonance.” Imagery provided with the announcement, captured by Willy Vanderperre, suggests tailoring and deconstruction could come to define this new label.
Theyskens initially rose to popularity in the late ’90s, when he dressed Madonna in a black satin hook-and-eye coat dress for the 1998 Oscars. For the next four years, he put out collections under his name to great praise until 2002, when he became the creative director of Rochas. Over the past three decades, Theyskens also designed for Nina Ricci and Theory, as well as his own label. Now, with Boloria, Theyskens has returned once again, and it’s safe to say the women of Hollywood are excited. Theyskens has long been a red carpet favorite of the more fashion-forward leading ladies. So, in honor of his return to the fold, let’s look at his best celebrity dressing moments, from that iconic Madonna look and beyond.
Madonna
Madonna attended the 1998 Oscars with her brother and the dress that started it all for Theyskens.
Madonna
Clearly, Madonna was happy with her Oscars dress because later that same year, she wore Theyskens again, this time to the VH1 Fashion Awards.
Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Dunst wore this pale blue, long-sleeved Theyskens-designed Rochas fall 2006 dress featuring a skirt covered in birds to the Cannes premiere of Marie Antoinette.
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman pulled from that same Rochas collection for a visit to China in 2006, though her birds were perched on a wire.
Reese Witherspoon
In 2007, Reese Witherspoon attended the Academy Awards in an Olivier Theyskens dress featuring layers of ombré tulle.
Ellen Pompeo
Ellen Pompeo looked like a walking SAG Award in 2008 when she attended the event in a silver Nina Ricci spring 2008 dress, created by Theyskens.
Sarah Jessica Parker
There was a bit of drama when Sarah Jessica Parker stepped out at the premiere of the 2008 Sex and the City film in this Nina Ricci by Theyskens dress, only because Lauren Santo Domingo wore the same design to the Met Gala earlier in the month.
Nicki Minaj
Theyskens has dressed a wide array of celebrities over the years, including Nicki Minaj at the 2010 BET Awards.
Halle Berry
Halle Berry wore a lingerie-inspired dress from Theysken’s fall 2009 collection for Nina Ricci to the Golden Globe Awards in 2011.
Lena Dunham
Berry’s Golden Globe dress was a far cry from the much more covered-up Theory dress Lena Dunham wore in 2013.
Felicity Jones
Felicity Jones attended the Charles James: Beyond Fashion Met Gala in 2014 in a vintage-inspired Theory by Olivier Theyskens gown, and she walked the red carpet with the designer by her side.
Greta Gerwig
Theyskens also dressed Greta Gerwig in Theory for the 2014 Met Gala, though her look was decidedly more modern.
Rooney Mara
Rooney Mara dipped into the Rochas archives for the Cannes Film Festival premiere of Carol in 2015. The actress wore an ethereal dress from Theyskens’s fall 2005 collection for Rochas.
Nicole Kidman
Kidman wore a simple, asymmetric Olivier Theyskens spring 2018 dress to support her husband, Keith Urban, at the American Music Awards in 2017.
Jennifer Lawrence
If Theyskens knows anything, it’s how to construct a bustier, as seen on the spring 2018 look Jennifer Lawrence wore to the BAM Gala in 2018.
Nicole Kidman
Clearly a fan of Theyskens’s work, Kidman wore the designer again in 2018, though this time she opted for color in the form of a striking pink, off-the-shoulder dress.
Maya Hawke
Considering Theyskens is teasing a lot of tailoring with his new label, we can likely expect to see more suited looks from him, like the one Maya Hawke wore to the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood premiere in 2019.
Renée Zellweger
Renée Zellweger wore a dress from the designer’s spring 2020 collection to the Judy premiere in 2020.
Kourtney Kardashian
Kourtney Kardashian opted for a lace-up leather mini dress from Theyskens’s spring 2021 collection for her appearance on the MTV VMAs red carpet alongside Travis Barker.
Jenny Slate
Jenny Slate wore a long-sleeved, patchwork Theyskens dress to the Critics Choice Awards in 2023.
Caroline Polachek
This dramatic, black gown with red lace and blood vessel details hails from Theysken’s first-ever collection in fall 1998.
Rebecca Ferguson
Rebecca Ferguson went in a more gothic, rock and roll route for the Dune: Part Two New York premiere, wearing a sheer lace Olivier Theyskens fall 2022 dress with platform, patent leather boots.
Fernanda Torres
The actress took home the Golden Globe for Best Actress in 2025 wearing a backless, high neck Theyskens dress with billowing sleeves and a dramatic slit.