Balenciaga

Tongues are still wagging about Alexander Wang's appointment as the creative director at Balenciaga: Anna Wintour, Diane von Furstenberg, and some other powerful industry players have now chimed in on his new job.

Eric Wilson talked with Wintour, von Furstenberg, and a number of other people who have observed Wang's work since his career started. Like Karl Lagerfeld and much of the Twittersphere, many of the people Wilson interviewed wholeheartedly support Wang's move. Below, the rest of the industry reacts to Wang's big news.

Anna Wintour on whether Wang's age is a problem: "Oh, please, come on. How great is it to be young? That is when designers are at their most fearless. That is when you do your most creative work."

Wintour, again, on Wang winning the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund: "He was so articulate. He said he wants to dress the girls of his age and his generation. That's what you see in everything he does. He lives and breathes the Alex brand."

PPR chief Francois-Henri Pinault, who is similarly unconcerned about Wang's age: When he started at Balenciaga, Ghesquière "was designing uniforms for Air France, and who would have said that Nicolas would become such a great talent?"

Isabelle Guichot, CEO of Balenciaga: "We're not asking him to be an entrepreneur. But luxury fashion is a business with some rules, and he understood that very early in his career, without ever compromising the creativity."

Robert Burke, industry consultant: "There were some feelings after what happened with John Galliano at Dior that the brands were promoting the individual designers too much. Now they're thinking, what is it going to take to keep a brand relevant and alive?"

Diane von Furstenberg on whether Wang is ready for the new job: "It was a coup for Alex, and a coup for American fashion," she said, adding, "he's going to need some mentoring in Paris."

And one designer who chose to remain unnamed, on Wang and other designers like him: "They're not fashion designers. They're fashion curators. They're sitting at a computer copying other peoples' ideas."

Photo: Wintour and Wang in 2010.

Francois-Henri Pinault — CEO of the company that owns Balenciaga — says his newest employee Alexander Wang is exactly what the fashion house needed in a new creative director.

In a Q-and-A with CBS reporter Rebecca Jarvis, Pinault said a combination of Wang's youth, worldview, and talent for design made him the perfect candidate to replace Nicolas Ghesquière.

"Alexander Wang is young and he has a very universal culture," Pinault said. "He has a very strong talent not only when it comes to accessible product, but his talent could also be adapted for couture at Balenciaga. It will be a big challenge for him. I like that he's young and based in New York, so we will have more exposure of the brand worldwide. Alexander has this wonderful contemporary brand under his own name and this has nothing to do with Balenciaga. We will not change anything in the positioning. We have spent a lot of time determining where the brand is and where we want to stay in terms of being very modern and avant-garde, but still being influenced by the street. Nicolas was one of the best at this."

Wang will no doubt have big shoes to fill, but Pinault said his Asian heritage "was not a criteria for recruitment at all. It was really [a matter of] let's find the right talent, the right skills, the right profile for the reality of the brand. . . We plan to continue to build on what has been built by Nicolas. We needed someone who was capable of coping with that."

If you'd been waiting with bated breath to hear what Karl Lagerfeld thinks about Alexander Wang taking over Balenciaga, you may now exhale.

"Considering how hard it is to replace a man such as Nicolas Ghesquière, the best solution is to choose someone completely different," the Chanel designer wrote in an email to Modmods, the fashion arm of the global daily newspaper Metro. "As the impression we have had so far is that Mr. Pinault very much wants to 'expand' this area of the business, I believe that Alexander Wang is the best man for the job. His fashion is easier, his personality is more open to the world and he has very good contacts. People 'adore' Alexander, I too like him very much and I think he is a good choice in light of the fashion house's future projects. Furthermore, his origins will prove to be very helpful in parts of the world where fashion is most important as well as the luxury industry."

As Fashionista noted in its post about the subject, Lagerfeld guest edited Metro earlier this year. His voice joins a chorus of congratulations for Wang that came from all corners of the fashion industry. Wang himself hasn't said much about his new job but is already hard at work on his debut women's Fall 2013 collection.

Alexander Wang hasn't said much about his new job at Balenciaga, but he's already logging hours studying the house's design history.

'"Immediately,' he said, 'I want to see the archives. I want to understand the culture behind the brand,'" said the brand's CEO Isabelle Guichot in an interview with WWD. "He could have slept there almost."

Pulling all-nighters might be necessary for Wang, who's due to present his first collection — a Fall 2013 women's line — in February. Guichot says she and Wang haven't decided how they're going to present the line and that she doesn't want to create any "unnecessary pressure" for her new designer.

Other than saying he felt "deeply honored" by his appointment, Wang hasn't commented on the new position other than to say, "We're still figuring things out."

Guichot has been a little more talkative and said she chose Wang because his understanding of the world — to say nothing of his fluent Mandarin and other ties to China, where the brand has 10 stores — will help bring Balenciaga forward.

"We wanted someone with global thinking, a citizen of the world, and someone who could understand the digital world and the direction of fashion and retail tomorrow," she said. "It will be a new vision; a new understanding of the brand. The heritage of Balenciaga is so big. Just a part of it has been exploited, but obviously not all of it."

Last week's rumors and Monday's confirmation that Alexander Wang is the new creative director of Balenciaga have elicited mixed responses in the industry and beyond.

Fashion critics like Cathy Horyn have taken analytical stances to Wang's appointment, commenting that his performance at Balenciaga will largely depend on where PPR executives want to take the company.

"The fact that they chose Mr. Wang, a contemporary-market designer, and not a high-fashion designer, emphatically suggests that they do want something different," Horyn wrote.

Robin Givhan of The Daily Beast agreed, writing last week that "Wang almost certainly would bring a broader commercial appeal to Balenciaga." When the news was confirmed today, she tweeted, "Bon chance to all!"

On Twitter, reactions ranged from elation (more than one account called his hire a "new era") to cautious optimism. A look at how the industry reacted to today's news, below.

Congrats Alexander Wang who will be taking over at Balenciaga. Can't wait to see (and shop!) xo ....via @womensweardaily

— Joe Zee (@mrjoezee) November 30, 2012

So it's Alexander Wang to Balenciaga but whither goes Nicolas the Great Ghesquiere?

— Hilary Alexander (@HilaryAlexander) December 3, 2012

It's official: Alex Wang goes to Balenciaga (tho keeps his own label too). Very new direction for the label!

— Christina Binkley (@BinkleyOnStyle) December 3, 2012

After weeks of speculation, @balenciaga officially appoints Alexander Wang Creative Director of the Balenciaga fashion house. A new era.

— i-D magazine (@iD_magazine) December 3, 2012

Raf Simons at Dior, Hedi Slimane at Saint Laurent Paris, Alexander Wang at Balenciaga. PARIS IS ON FIRE! #PFW #excitingtimes #helluvayear

— Jim Shi (@jimshi809) December 3, 2012

Confirmed: Wang announced at Balenciaga. Happy graduation day!

— bryanboy (@bryanboy) December 3, 2012

I see Wang xBalenciaga like a comedy where the older character is worried about the younger one "winning" but in the end no one loses anyway

— Amy Odell (@amyodell) November 30, 2012

Not sure how it will play out, but a younger American designer taking the helm at Balenciaga is a great moment for the US.

— John Jannuzzi (@johnjannuzzi) November 30, 2012

RT @seoulcialite: Wanglenciaga.

— Elizabeth Holmes (@EHolmesWSJ) November 29, 2012

very excited at all the chatter re @alexanderwangny heading to @balenciaga...can't WAIT for those clothes. WWD: wwd.us/Txo2iU

— Cindi Leive (@cindi_leive) November 30, 2012

Big global step for american fashion !“@nytimesfashion: Alexander Wang Appears as Leading Candidate for Balenciaga: nyti.ms/U3Gyvy

— steven kolb (@stevenkolb) November 29, 2012

Update: Alexander Wang will replace Nicolas Ghesquière as the creative director of Balenciaga. In an official announcement released this morning, PPR and Balenciaga announced that Wang will design the brand's women's and men's ready-to-wear, as well as accessories and image. Wang will continue to oversee his own namesake label as well.

"I am deeply honored to embark on this new role for a brand and house that I have such great admiration and respect for," Wang said in the release.

As for what a Wang-helmed Balenciaga will look like, it's anybody's guess. "Alexander Wang will use his creativity and his own research to reinterpret and immortalize the distinctive, modern, and extremely innovative style imposed by Cristóbal Balenciaga," explained François-Henri Pinault, CEO of PPR.

The news comes just a few days after both WWD and Cathy Horyn released independent reports that Wang was the rumored front-runner for the job.

Meanwhile, last Friday was Ghesquière's last day at Balenciaga. He announced earlier this month that he would leave the house after 15 years at the helm.

— Additional reporting by Christina Pérez

Lauren Conrad strolled the holiday-themed sidewalks of The Grove in LA looking equally festive and adorable in this Ho! Ho! Ho! sweater by Lot 78 ($325). We love that she kept her bottoms edgy and classy via black leather pants and black suede pumps. Her trusty Balenciaga bag ($1,895) and a pair of cat-eye Elizabeth and James sunglasses ($185) completed her daytime style. Score Lauren's exact sweater now to work into your holiday wardrobe. You can pair it with leather pants like she did or throw it over your favorite denim. For a more ladylike take, sport your sweater with a black pencil skirt.

One of Cathy Horyn's sources in Paris claims that Alexander Wang is the likely replacement for outgoing Balenciaga designer Nicolas Ghesquière. The house could be ready to announce that it's hired Wang as early as next week, the source said.

Shortly after Ghesquière announced his departure, Balenciaga CEO Isabelle Guichot said that she had a short list of potential candidates, which was rumored to include Wang, Joseph Altuzarra, Bouchra Jarrar, J.W. Anderson, and Christopher Kane, among others. A spokeswoman for Kane said earlier this month that speculation about him joining Balenciaga was "unfounded," but just this week it was reported that Kane has had discussions for possible financing with Balenciaga's parent company, PPR.

Wang, who runs his brand independently, was rumored to be in the running to replace John Galliano at Dior last year. At the time, he said that he would only take on another design challenge if it were "completely different" from what he does with his own label.

"Sometimes you don't get to say all you want to say in your brand," he said. "When the right opportunity comes, it will present itself in a way that I'll be inspired by it. But right now, it's not like, 'Oh I'm after that house, I want to do that.'"

Only time will tell whether Wang is sufficiently inspired by Balenciaga. Ghesquière's last day at the house is Friday, Nov. 30.

Photo: Alexander Wang photographed by David Needleman for the October 2011 issue of Out Magazine.