Balenciaga S/S 2014 Paris

[nita-karoliina]

This collection is very alexander wang. It's nice enough. Don't mind much about all those dropped shoulders though. Those don't look good if you are short and petite like i am..

 

[tricotineacetat]

So boring. So average. So expected.

I know I liked his debut collection at first, but the longer I looked at it, the more I realized how average it truly was. And now this.

He is so incapable of creating anything truly "designed." All he's good for is a t-shirt and a sweatshirt. Every time he tries to really construct or drape or venture into complicated pattern making, he ALWAYS fails.

Just a show filled with basics gussied up in a flashy presentation and on flashy, big name, old and new favorite models. It's all a great distraction. Almost makes you forget the clothes. Which, in fact, as I'm typing this now, have forgotten all specifics about this collection except that Daria Werbowy closed the show. Telling.

Nicolas' collections were ALWAYS about the clothes. And his showpieces were always an integral part of the message of the collection and not only that, even when they were extreme, they were always desirable. I can't say the same about Wang's "showpieces." They're just awkward. They're just tricky - to make you think they're feats of construction and design - but no, they're just some strategically placed ruffles.

I hate that Wang is at this house. Of all the houses to be at, it's the most revered house in fashion history. Is nothing sacred anymore? Truly shameful. Absolutely shameful.

The irony about it is that you have a proper 'Couture' designer like Olivier Theyskens sitting at Theory, designing a collection that is essentially relying on t-shirt layering, with very little design effort spent... I don't know really, I understand your concern about Alexander Wang being an unlikely fit at Balenciaga and that a handful other designers would have much rather 'deserved' to take the reigns instead of him (who are we to say that, anyway?), but I think he's done an OK job here.

You can tell from the close ups that the research on costly fabric developments is still there, an infrastructure that was established under Nicolas with specialty ateliers and fabric suppliers that Alexander Wang is continuing to make use of. And while Nicolas Ghesquière can be credited for the overall artistic direction of the house, It would be only fair to note that other talented designers, such as Sébastien Peigné, Bouchra Jarrar and Alistair Carr, have formerly contributed to Balenciaga's success under Nicolas... So taking that into account, I do think it is very likely that Alexander Wang is not singlehandedly designing the Balenciaga collections himself.

 

[anlabe32]

Is there a decent video of the collection?

 

[tricotineacetat]

God I am so sick of designers bringing sportswear into it. Do it in your own label but not at Balenciaga. If I wanted to wear sportswear I'd buy Nike etc.

While his first collection was not as bad as I thought it would be this is just stale. There is no excitement. NG leads whereas AW follows. The peplum shorts look like nappies. Just blah the whole thing.

Sportswear in this case does not mean performance-inspired activewear clothing, but is a technical term in fashion, referring to lighter-constructed garments, often times intended as interchangeable separates. This term came up in the beginning of designer ready-to-wear with designers such as Claire McCardell etc. taking the lead. Hope this helps clarify the case a bit.

 

[loladonna]

The collections NG put out during his last few years at Balenciaga were horrid. Wang's collections are a godsend in comparison.

 

[Melancholybaby]

Detailed video

 

[KookyQuirk]

Bland and boring. Please can we pluck an upstart from one of the London fringe shows?

 

[ogepma]

I seem to be in the minority here as I thought this was a good collection. Not great but you can definitely see the clear direction he has for the brand. There was a little bit of Ghesquire here and there which is ok as most of the Balenciaga we know today was done by him. However, while this is just his second collection, I fear that it may not get better than this. Granted, he seems to be doing his job just right, according to what the owners want; he has made it more commercial and accessible but at the end of the day, I don't think Balenciaga is supposed to be that kind of brand; a brand that is commercial first, and conceptual second. I think it should be the other way round. Perhaps that is why the collection lacks depth and soul. As much as it is miles better than anything he has done for his own brand, I feel he should work on having a better balancing act at Balenciaga with the conceptual aspect being perceived before the commercial one. Even many editors have noticed this, for the first time since I started following fashion, style.com's cover page graced Rick Owens instead of Balenciaga.

 

[ad31214]

^ I feel that I am also in the minority here. I especially loved the dresses on Julia and Fei Fei

 

[Selfportraitgrl]

^ Yeah, I'm surprised by all the hate here. I think he's doing a lovely job and I think this collection is quite beautiful.

 

[simple_elegance]

Those pink and blue minidresses are horrendously ugly.