Nicolas Ghesquière was born in Comines in the north of France in 1971. He began his fashion career at the age of fifteen, and in 1991 joined Jean Paul Gaultier as an assistant designer. In 1995 Ghesquière was appointed creative director of Balenciaga, where he was soon acclaimed for his sculpted silhouettes and progessive style. In 2006 Ghesquière was voted by Time as one of the world’s 100 most influential people, and in 2007 he was made a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.