Lara Stone and Kate Moss for Balenciaga fall 2015
French fashion house Balenciaga may lose its creative director this fall, if rumors speculating Alexander Wang’s departure at the end of his contract prove true.
Mr. Wang currently juggles his work at Balenciaga with his own eponymous label, which demands a great deal of energy and commitment. If Mr. Wang does choose to leave in the fall, he will have spent two years designing for the French fashion house, as he debuted his first collection for the brand in 2013.
Out and about
Mr. Wang’s commitment to his own fashion label may distract him from his creative duties at Balenciaga. Whether or not this is the case, Balenciaga has experienced significant successes since he took on the role as creative director.
For example, Balenciaga’s chief executive officer Isabelle Guichot reported excellent growth in all categories last year. The brand has grown from just three stores to 90 stores in the past seven years.
Balenciaga enjoys plenty of coverage in popular fashion magazines
Balenciaga has introduced many successful initiatives with Mr. Wang as creative director. For example, the French fashion house formally introduced its B. Balenciaga fragrance to its consumer base after the buzz surrounding its launch subsided.
B. Balenciaga’s launch was announced by major fashion publications over the summer with follow-up pieces written by The Wall Street Journal, InStyle and Vogue in the weeks that followed that delved further into creative director Alexander Wang’s inspiration. Soon after, Balenciaga placed print advertisements for the fragrance, but did not officially debut it via digital marketing materials until February (see story).
Loosing Mr. Wang would initially limit Balenciaga, but it would eventually give the brand an opportunity to introduce fresh talent.