Michael Olise Is Now Making His Own Short Films

On his YouTube channel, Michael Olise has so far released two videos. Both carry his initials in the title, and in both the credits list him as the filmmaker. After the Ballon d’Or came “MO 002”, 100 seconds long and shot on analogue 16mm stock. Olise calls the film “A celebration of process”.

The films follow a shift in Olise’s visual identity that was already visible on Instagram during the summer. Before the 2026 World Cup, Olise deleted his entire feed; during the tournament, it showed nothing but grainy images that German photographer Lukas Korschan had shot off a CRT television.

In August came “MO 001”, a minimalist, artistic short film without a conventional advertising message or accompanying campaign. Olise describes it as a “Portrait of persistence”, in which the rhythm of the work becomes audible. It was directed by Noah Gravs, with an original score and sound design by Jon Clarke of The Hogan, and production and visual effects by Untold Studios.

Both films credit “Olise Internal” as producer. As with the lo-fi images during the World Cup, Olise is building a distinctive, reserved and enigmatic visual language. In the second film, he turns the focus to the people who made his suit for the ceremony.

Michael Olise and YAKU: How the Ballon d’Or Suit Was Made

On the suit, too, Olise comes first in the credits: he designed it together with London label YAKU, which also took on development and styling. Yaku Stapleton founded YAKU in 2023, the year he completed his master’s at Central Saint Martins. It was the label’s first bespoke suit.

Olise himself was born in London and grew up in Hayes, in the west of the city. He played for Hayes & Yeading United as a child, later spent time in Chelsea’s academy and became a Premier League player at Crystal Palace before joining Bayern Munich in 2024.

YAKU told Hypebeast how closely Olise was involved: working with him “felt very intentional from the start”, with his creative input “shaping every aspect of the suit”.

After an internship at YAKU and studies at Leeds Arts University, Charlie Brown returned to the label to lead the project. The credits list Brown alongside Zac McGarry, who works on Savile Row, for bespoke tailoring consultancy.

Stapleton revealed further details of the design in an interview with Complex: the military frogging on the jacket spells out Olise’s initials, while the trousers sit below the hips and stack at the hem like baggy jeans. The low-slung trousers bring an element of streetwear to the French military tailoring. Stapleton calls it “bespoke pant sag”: the sagging look, tailored to measure.

The thirty silver and amethyst buttons, whose shape takes inspiration from natural stone, were hand-cast by London jewellery designer Toby Vernon. With his label The Ouze, he is part of the 2025/26 cohort of NewGen, the British Fashion Council’s support programme for emerging designers since 1993. Olise was photographed in the suit by London photographer Cassia Agyeman.

Michael Olise’s 16mm Ballon d’Or Short Film

The film follows the work from the first sketches to the fittings, along with moments behind the scenes before the ceremony. The distinctive grain of the analogue stock remains visible in the footage.

Spectacular on the pitch, often a man of few words in front of the microphones: Olise is known as “Mr. Nonchalant”. Olise rarely explains his creative projects. Instead, he lets the work speak for itself: the grainy Instagram images, two short films, the suit he co-designed with YAKU and the hand-painted Hypervenom boots he wore at the World Cup. Together, they reveal another side of the Bayern Munich player.

Olise does not simply leave his public image to others; he helps to shape it himself. That also makes him interesting to commercial partners. Nike is reportedly set to make the Frenchman the face of its relaunched Hypervenom, the very boot Olise has stayed loyal to for years without a kit deal. His second short film shows that he has long had his own idea of how he wants to come across.