Alexander Wang’s long awaited debut for the house of Balenciaga made for a really impressive start. Wang presented a very grown-up collection and stayed true to the house’s heritage following Nicolas Ghequiere’s departure after 15 years at Balenciaga.
Alexander Wang took the show back to Balenciaga headquarters at Avenue George V. That was a highly symbolic move since the designer delved deep into the Balenciaga archives before creating this collection. The Balenciaga legacy was evident throughout the show with strong references to the rounded hems, the oblique shoulders and the cocoon silhouette. He “minimized everything passing the idea of Balenciaga across without being super precious about it” as Cathy Horyn of The New York Times put it.
The catwalk was faux white marble with black veins. A pattern that was reproduced on the clothes and even on the shoes, also a slim black t-strap on shoes with deep toe-décolletage gave that sense marble cracks. Black and white was also dominant at the collection’s color palette. The fabrics and sartorial technique used were beautiful and it was obvious that Wang utilised all the technology he had in hand, for instance what gave the impression of cracked black leather was actually mohair knit.
Overall it was a very promising beginning from one of our favourite designers, “old Balenciaga done in a very contemporary way” were the words of Franca Sozzani of Vogue Italia right after the show.
