Balenciaga Appoints New Creative Director

Days after Alexander Wang made his final bow at Balenciaga they have confirmed his replacement. Their new creative director is... drumroll please... Demna Gvasalia, the creative director of Vetements.

Vetements is a collective made up of seven anonymous designers, led by Demna Gvasalia, who all met while working at Maison Martin Margiela. Four seasons in the label has been hailed as one of the coolest in Paris, thanks to its fresh spin on every day classics. The Vetements red floral dress has been worn as much as the Gucci loafers and the show had a real buzz, with Kanye West on the front row.

The 34-year-old Georgian designer has previously worked at Louis Vuitton and Maison Martin Margiela under the founder, and will show his first collection for Balenciaga in March 2016. He said of his new role: “I am extremely honored and excited to be given the opportunity to bring my creative vision to Balenciaga, a house with such an exceptional history of pushing the boundaries of modernity in fashion. I am looking forward to further [expanding] the DNA of the house and, together with the team, to write a new chapter in its history.”

Balenciaga chief executive office and president Isabelle Guichot told WWD: “We really wanted somebody that has a vision, and someone capable of reshuffling the cards. I was really amazed by his ability to develop an approach to the brand that was really new and that was really his own…what should be the attitude, what should be the silhouette, what should be the volumes.”

Alexander Wang was at the helm of Balenciaga for three years, suceeding Nicholas Ghesquière who was at the label for 15 years before heading to Louis Vuitton.

Wang left Balenciaga to focus on his own eponymous label - it was reported that it was a struggle to balance both roles. Demna Gvasalia will continue to head up Paris-based Vetements.