Today Alexander Wang unveils his inaugural collection for Balenciaga. The Fashion world nearly burst into flames last December when the California-raised, 29 year old designer was announced as Creative Director for the European design house. The choice was unexpected (yet totally expected) as an American designer had not assumed a European brand since Marc Jacobs took creative control at Louis Vuitton in the 1990’s. A couple of weeks ago, PPR the company that owns Balenciaga, said that Wang’s appointment was part of a plan to make the brand more “approachable, with a certain youthful sportiness”.
In short, Balenciaga wants to be hot and sexy among Millennials again (like they were in 2006) and believe Alexander Wang is the man to do it. But by hiring a creative director that instinctually connects with and represents a global fashion consciousness, Balenciaga may unintentionally be is poised to change the fashion status quo.
In under a decade, Wang has clawed his way to the peak of fashion notoriety and the top of every sixteen to thirty-something’s covet list by generating organic, effortlessly chic street clothing that mirrors and embodies what is captured in fashion blogs from around the world.
Balenciaga is already pretty sporty and somewhat youthful, but where they fall short is the approachable part. However it’s important to note that Wang won’t ignite widespread desire for Balenciaga simply by taking the design house in new stylistic directions or even by giving it a complete makeover. Wang’s creative contributions will be in the way the brand interfaces with consumers.
Wang is the motherfucking man when it comes to engaging Millennials. His eponymous label has kept its allure by artfully finding a balance between being attainable and unattainable by using social media and more traditional PR.
Rumi Neely is the star and subject of the most visited fashion blogs, Fashion Toast, with nearly three hundred thousand followers between her Instagram and Twitter accounts, with another fifty thousand friends on Facebook, and is one of Wang’s conduits to the masses. Every season she flaunts his most sold out it items, whetting the appetite of millions of shoppers. Alexander Wang understands that fashion bloggers are the social media-based evolution of “word-of-mouth”.
Wang’s label also remains painfully unattainable by appearing on the top celebrities like Rihanna and Azealia Banks. The Fashion Bomb Daily is just one of countless sites dedicated to dissecting the outfits of these young women as they dodge the paparazzi or pose on the red carpet. Who needs ads and editorials in Vogue when you can get the publicity in real life, in real time, distributed widely, on the most watched icons of your time. You can see why PPR gave him the job.
Rumi with Alexander Wang Wang with Azealia Banks
Balenciaga hopes to engage the Millennial consumer market. The Millennial generation was born post 1980 and are between 18 and 30 years old. They outnumber aging baby boomers and are three times larger than the generation that follows. They don’t watch TV and default to social media and pop culture to influence lifestyle decisions. Millennial’s are also the most racially and ethnically diverse generation the US has ever known. For Millennials to want to adopt a brand, it must embody them and reflect their essence. If Balenciaga truly wants to connect with them they are going to have to reflect the global Millennial consumer not only in the brand, but in its advertising and runway shows as well.
This could shake up the fashion industry status quo when it comes to racial inclusivity. Currently the fashion industry is very white and is getting whiter by the moment. Sure, it embraces ethnicity and diversity in inspiration and pattern, but there is virtually no ethnic diversity in models cast to represent brands in ad campaigns and on the runways. Jezebel conducted its fifth annual scan of New York Fashion Week Fall Season 2013 models and found that only 17% of the 4479 models were people of color.
I don’t think this shift will happen simply because Wang is the first designer of Asian descent to enter the ranks of Parisian high fashion - I’m making such an assertion because Balenciaga may not have a choice. Wang’s PR relationships are already firmly established in urban demographics and those relationships drive sales.
If Balenciaga is smart and wants to yield the desired results, they’ll just sit back and let Wang do what he does so well to capture the hearts and disposable income of young people around the world.
Its no doubt Wang has some serious work to do. In a year, one of the definitive fashion houses could start a trend of embracing and depicting the global fashion consciousness that would reshape how the fashion industry integrates race. Or Wang could do what every professional ball player from the hood does after they reach success; dump the black girl who was with them from the start and “trade up” for a white girl.
I do see one barrier to Balenciaga becoming “approachable, with a certain youthful sportiness,” and that’s with price. Millennial’s have a different perception of luxury than previous generations and define it by functionality and what they can’t live without. They know most luxury brands will eventually produce a diffusion line with lower priced collections as every major designer has created a partnership with Target or H&M. Or they can wait until items go on sale or turn up at outlets.
To illustrate this point, Alexander Wang’s namesake labels most coveted Liya heels sell for $495 (when they’re not completely sold out), compared to Balenciaga’s Harness Platform Boot that had bitches salivating from 2006 to 2009. They were about $1,100. When a majority of Millennials are either unemployed, underpaid, or weighed down with student loans, $1,100 shoes aren’t all that sporty or approachable at all.
Check out the Balenciaga Autumn Fall 2013 collection and let me know what you think.
