ALEXANDER WANG describes his appointment as creative director at Balenciaga as "a dream come true", and has said that he's "extremely excited" to unveil his first collection tomorrow. Speaking after the New York show for his eponymous label earlier this month, it's the first time that the designer has commented on his new role since it was announced that he'd be succeeding Nicolas Ghesquière in November.
Understandably, the 29-year-old was a little nervous about accepting such a high-profile position.
"My first reaction was: 'I am so occupied, I give 110 per cent to my brand,'" he explained. "Then I thought of elevating my team and being given a chance to do all those things I had at the back of my mind. I am doing something quite different from what I do [at Alexander Wang]."
US Vogue editor Anna Wintour is believed to have been instrumental in persuading the designer to accept the job. And now the time has come to see the first results.
"I am extremely excited. I am high on life. It's a dream come true," Wang told Suzy Menkes. "It was a surreal experience to look at the whole archive that they had just redone. It was such an incredible tradition. I was taking things out of the box and there were a lot of personal collectibles from Cristobal, personal gifts from Vionnet. I didn't have time to go through everything."
Nicolas Ghesquière helmed the brand for 15 years, and announced that he was stepping down at the beginning of November last year. Wang was confirmed as his successor less than a month later.
"There is such an austerity to [Balenciaga] that is so integral to the house and part of its DNA," said Wang. "I was watching all the videos. Those shows would go on all day! It was such a different world, how they are all dressed and the gowns they would wear on a daily basis just to go to dinner. [Cristobal Balenciaga] was always such a mystery. He managed to give the perception that he might be very private. The great thing about that is that there is a whole unknown side of yourself. I know about me - but I save myself for my friends."
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SARAH KARMALI | February 27, 2013 | Article Link
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