26 year old Olivier Theyskens was born in Brussels in 1977 to a Belgian father and French mother.

In October 1995, he entered the design section of the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Visuels de la Cambre.

As a 20-year-old, Olivier Theyskens dropped out of La Cambre art school in Brussels to start his own label.

Rumoured that he might take over at Givenchy, he suddenly fell out with his financial backer, closed his label, and moved to the Theatre de la Monnaie to create stage costumes.

Luckily for him, Madonna's stylist walked into his press agent's studio one morning and took one of his outfits for her to wear at an event.

He rocketed to stardom overnight.

In 2002 he had a huge runway success with a play on an Edwardian Aviary.

Always experimenting with design equations, Theyskens draws inspiration from historical references. In one exhibition his models were famously dressed in birdcages with birdlike creatures adorning their heads.

It is designs like this that have forged his reputaion as a cutting edge designer.