Alexander Wang leaves Balenciaga

Yesterday it was revealed that American designer Alexander Wang would step down as creative director of famed fashion house, Balenciaga. After almost 3 years, it seems that Wang is struggling to cope with the demands of his own fashion brand and that of Balenciaga, and now wants to focus his attention back onto his self titled line.

Honestly, I didn't see this arrangement working out from the beginning. First of all, Alex Wang is young, very young in fashion terms to head up a major fashion house. He is the cool kid from New York, who likes his sports wear and relaxed way of dressing with fans including Rihanna, Kendall Jenner and Katy Perry. If anything, his brand is on the rise, after the H&M collaboration last year and the success of trendy diffusion line T by Alexander Wang, it's fair to say that Wang is a man on a fashion mission and is setting the ground work for what will be one day, be a huge luxury goods empire. So for him to take the reigns of Balenciaga is like putting together chalk and cheese.

Balenciaga is one of the oldest fashion houses which shows at Paris Fashion Week. It has a clientele which consists of older, more refined ladies who wouldn't be caught dead in Wang's sports wear. Cate Blanchett, Diane Kruger and Kristen Stewart (who is the face of their Florabotanica fragrance) are just some of the women who wear Balenciaga on the red carpet. Plus, Nicholas Ghesquiere was at the fashion house for 15 years - which is a very long time in fashion for a creative director to head a brand. For any designer to follow on from his success would be a tricky task, which is why Kering should have chosen someone with a little more experience for Balenciaga, compared to Wang.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that this move is for the best. Wang's collections for Balenciaga have been good, but not amazing. There have been a few collections I have really liked, especially the fall 2015 show staged in March this year. There is no doubt that he is a very talented designer. He has definitely embraced the DNA of the brand, but used his own style to modernise it considerably. Who will now replace him? Who knows, but there is talk that Kering will choose someone who has worked their way up at Balenciaga. Someone who understands the aesthetic of the brand and knows the ins and outs of ready-to-wear. Similar to how Kering appointed Alessandro Michelle at Gucci a couple of months ago. In the meantime, we just wait and see. But a fond farewell goes out to Alexander Wang.