Vetements’ spokesperson and ‘head’ takes over as Creative Director as Alexander Wang steps down.

Fashion is learning to love an underdog. News is spreading like a Zippo to polyester that Demna Gvasalia of (the coolest label in Paris right now) Vetements is stepping up as the new Creative Director of Balenciaga.

The news follows Alexander Wang’s departure from the brand after 3 years as Creative Director. His final collection this season was an innocent offering in lace.

Isabelle Guichot, president and CEO of Balenciaga, said: “I am very pleased to welcome Demna Gvasalia as the artistic director of Balenciaga’s collections. He has quickly emerged as the best choice for the new artistic direction of the maison. With his mastery of techniques, his expertise and fashion knowledge, in conjunction with his innovative and carefully considered approach, Demna Gvasalia adopts a unique vision of the designer’s role today and thus recalls Cristobal Balenciaga’s own vision. I am confident that he will succeed in embracing Balenciaga’s core values and developing them in harmony with today’s global changes.”

After just three seasons heading up his own collective label, Gvasalia was an unexpected but rumoured choice. With experience and Margiela and Louis Vuitton, there’s plenty of hope for the regeneration of Balenciaga that Wang began to continue under Gvasalia. We’re praying that the Little House on the Prairie summer scenes Wang created this season, morph with Gvasalia’s club kid Vetements tribe into a small town adolescence uniform for Balenciaga’s future.

Photographer: Alice Rosati

Fashion Editor: James V. Thomas