After two and a half years as creative director of Balenciaga, Alexander Wang’s Paris Fashion Week collection will be his last… We tell you why.
Weeks of speculation come to a end with Alexander Wang announcing that he will not renew his contract with Balenciaga. The French fashion house was quick to state that it was the outcome of a “mutual decision” and that they regret to see him go. “Since 2012, Alexander Wang has stood at the creative helm of the maison and has been instrumental in the pursuit of its development. With his proven talent and his irreverent, modern vision of design, Alexander Wang has brought a new impetus to the brand,” Balenciaga stated last Friday.
“With his proven talent and his irreverent, modern vision of design, Alexander Wang has brought a new impetus to the brand.”
WWD reports that Kering, the parent luxury group of Balenciaga, is currently on the lookout for someone to stand at the creative helm of the house. “A new creative director … will be announced in due course,” Kering stated. This will perhaps be sometime after Wang’s SS16 collection for Paris Fashion Week in October.
In his three years with Balenciaga, Wang has seen his collaborations worn by celebrities like Kate Moss, Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Kim Kardashian. “I am honored to have had the opportunity to work for this historical maison. I would like to thank the brilliant team at Balenciaga for their collaboration and for what we have accomplished together, and I am looking forward to taking my own brand to its next level of growth,” Wang said in a release by Kering.
So what plans does Wang have in mind? Wang is leaving Balenciaga to devote himself to his eponymous brand which is only going to become more successful. The brand recently opened its latest and largest flagship store in London last week. Alexander Wang already had over twenty locations in Asia alone. “I wanted it to be a substantial representation of the brand, one in which I can house every single category that we offer,” Wang said. “I am looking forward to taking my own brand to its next level of growth.”
What this next level is, we can only conjecture. As Wang said, “As I’ve grown up, my tastes have changed.” He remains a rising star in the industry, loved by both high-end and mainstream retail consumers.
