Right on the heels of Alexander Wang’s last bow at Balenciaga, the House has appointed Demna Gvasalia as its new creative director. The 34-year-old Georgian designer is behind the French label Vêtements, launched in 2014, which underground modern aesthetic features everyday wardrobe staples such as jeans, biker jackets, and shirts, which are remodeled and deconstructed to purposely look disheveled. His previous roles include being the senior designer of the women’s ready-to-wear collections at Louis Vuitton as well as a stint at Maison Margiela.
The appointment comes as a bold move by the parent company Kering that also owns Saint Laurent and Gucci. Both labels have been injected with a successful new spin; Hedi Slimane worked the magic of his grunge glam designs at Saint Laurent and Alessandro Michele replaced overtly sexy with vintage preppy at Gucci. Will Demna Gvasalia bring a whole new look to the French luxury house? We’ll know when he presents his first collection for Balenciaga in Paris in March.
