Olivier Lapidus was born on 5 July 1956 in Paris, into a family where haute couture and aesthetic sensibility ran deep. His father, Ted Lapidus, was a major designer of the 1960s-70s, credited with popularizing unisex and safari style, while his mother Véronique Zuber — Miss France 1955 — introduced him to elegance and performance early on.

He trained at the École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, gaining a rigorous grounding in couture. His career began at Balmain Homme, followed by work in Japan for the Miki Group, producing collections distributed across 350 stores.

In 1989 he took over the creative reins of his father’s house, continuing the Lapidus legacy until 2000. Throughout the 1990s he built a reputation as a pioneer merging craftsmanship with technology — from fibre-optic dresses and solar-panel garments to textiles woven from fruit fibres. In 1994 he received the Dé d'Or for haute couture.
After leaving the family brand, he expanded his practice into interiors, furniture, lighting, and lifestyle objects. His design of the Hôtel Félicien marked a shift into spatial and experiential creation.

In 2017 he became Creative Director of Lanvin, tasked with revitalising one of France’s oldest couture houses through a contemporary, technology-driven lens.
Since 2010, Olivier has served as Senior Partner and Creative Director at XCASSIA, applying decades of fashion and design experience to branded real estate, hospitality concepts, and cultural destinations.

His signature ethos — clean lines, minimalism, technological integration, and narrative-driven design — shapes XCASSIA’s global portfolio, fusing fashion sensibility with architecture to craft distinctive experiential environments.