Wonderfully Wang
In his first season at Balenciaga, Alexander Wang stays faithful to the brand's philosophy while introducing some interesting touches of his own
ALEXANDER WANG, the new creative director of high-end French fashion house Balenciaga recently unveiled his debut collection at a press preview organised by the brand’s sole Thai distributor Club21.
Wang illustrated the philosophy for which he is known, emphasising cut and construction while maintaining the brand’s fundamental principles in a complete feminine wardrobe that revisits the idea of the body’s movement within the clothes and the opposition between the static and dynamic.
The luxurious materials were deliberately restricted to Kabic, crepe, velvet, leather and fur, which were enhanced using modern techniques and signature Balenciaga finishes. The colour range evoked a hand-sketched drawing, a blend of black, optical white, ebony, cream and cypress.
Wang’s autumn-winter collection comes in three themes. For “General interpretation” the designer has used the house’s history as his inspiration and brought his perspective to the work of the brand’s founder, Spaniard Cristobal Balenciaga.
“Minerality” creates a parallel between the idea of a monolithic garment and mineral element while “Genetic Mutation” reinterprets the house’s codes and looks. Fur takes on the look of marble, leather become a mosaic knit with a plaster-like appearance, evening wear has turned into day wear and backs are worn as fronts.
Key pieces include the Petal coat, Petal skirt and Petal trousers, the Cocoon silhouette, the Egg coat, Geometry silhouette, and the “Kicked” effect, a technique that develop shirts with the back part longer than the front.
Models wore evening shirts with a cape on shoulders that continued along the sleeve plus accentuated–waist skirts. The Petal silhouette highlighted an asymmetric volume that pushed towards the front and was matched with fitted cropped smoking trousers with middle seams at front and back for an ankle “bascule’” effect.
The interesting leather marble fabric, finished with handmade embroidery realised in India, mixes four different leathers and has small leather squares curved to make a tube. Dresses represented the couture spirit, beautifully styled and in fluid materials, with evening and cocktail dresses sporting cowls at the back inspired by Greek statue. Wang also showed a cocktail jumpsuit with a bustier embroidered with dots and an open back.
Another highlight was the Marble Crew Neck made from mohair knit matched with Petal Pant volume pants and a large high-waisted belt. Pleats and drapes created a bow effect.
The marble theme was also evident in the lambskin leather shoes, which were high heeled and sophisticated with sharp and pointy cut-outs and a slim V strap at front.
