At just 29, Alexander Wang is the fastest rising star in fashion. Notoriously known for building his own global multimillion-dollar business in less than a decade, Wang is now not only taking on his design house but the house of one of the greatest, Balenciaga. The fashion world may have been a bit skeptical at first about an American designer taking the role of creative director (to quote Diane von Furstenberg, "he's going to need some mentoring in Paris,") however, Wang has held his own and has definitely made Cristóbal Balenciaga proud with his debut in Paris Fashion Week last Thursday.
“'For this particular collection I really wanted to start with the product and have the product speak for itself,' Wang told The Daily Beast backstage. 'I took this idea of a wardrobe, aligned it with what I thought were the codes and the DNA of the [Balenciaga] house, and pushed that into these modern staples: the peacoat, the shirt, the pencil skirt, the sweater, the pullover.'" (Alice Cavanagh, The Daily Beast)
What I love most about Wang's debut was his respect for Cristóbal and for Balenciaga traditions. Wang showed many signatures of the house, such as Balenciaga's love of geometric shapes (notice the necklines, they're triangle!) He also stuck with the iconic Balenciaga petal-shaped hems, he just flipped them to give a high-low affect. Also you saw plenty of backless styles, which is totally classic Balenciaga.
“The first thing I did was spend time in the archives,” said Wang, who seemed both exuberant and a little overwhelmed when we spoke with him. “I haven’t gone through everything yet, because it’s so expansive, but this was a starting point. Cristóbal’s philosophy was always dynamic movement—all the skirts, the jackets swung forward. Then, I thought about contrasting that with something quite static and monolithic, like marble statues.” (Alice Cavanagh, The Daily Beast)
(They really look like marble statues, don't they?!)
As much as you see Balenciaga, you can see Alexander Wang. He may have stuck with tradition, but he also made it clear that these were still new designs, his designs. In just the 34 looks presented you saw Balenciaga with a twist, the new house of Balenciaga, Alexander Wang's house of Balenciaga.
