Balenciaga appoints Alexander Wang Creative Director
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Paris, 3 December 2012,
Balenciaga and PPR are pleased to announce the appointment of Alexander Wang to the post of Creative Director of the Balenciaga fashion house, as of today. Alexander Wang has responsibility for designing the brand’s women’s and men’s ready-to-wear and accessories collections, as well as for Balenciaga’s image.
Alongside his new duties at Balenciaga, Alexander Wang will continue his activities with his own, independently-owned fashion house.
"I am deeply honored to embark on this new role for a brand and house that I have such great admiration and respect for", said Alexander Wang.
Isabelle Guichot, President & CEO of Balenciaga, stated: “The Balenciaga fashion house and its staff are proud to welcome Alexander Wang, whose proven talent, modernity and individual and cosmopolitan vision of design will naturally embrace and enrich the unique heritage of this fashion house which will soon be one hundred years old.”
François-Henri Pinault, Chairman and CEO of PPR, added: “Balenciaga is an extraordinary fashion house with inexhaustible potential and it is endowed with a priceless heritage. 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. "
BALENCIAGA
The Balenciaga fashion house, which has been part of the PPR Group since 2001, is one of the most influential names in fashion. Founded in 1919 by Cristóbal Balenciaga and established in Paris in 1936, it has been behind the biggest trends in fashion from 1930 to 1968.
While the brand’s identity is firmly rooted in its highly symbolic prêt-à-porter collections, items of leather, footwear and accessories are also experiencing success worldwide. Among the flagship products of the house, are the collections of handbags. Balenciaga is also focusing on the development of its ready-to-wear collections for men which are successful. The brand has also revived its prestigious past in perfumery with the creation of three new fragrances: Balenciaga Paris, L’Essence and Florabotanica.
Highly selective from the start in its choice of distribution outlets, the brand has now developed in an environment that respects its spirit, through its own stores and e-commerce sites, but also through franchised stores and concessions in the top multi-brand boutiques across the world.
A coherent plan for the construction of a network of directly-operated stores has been developed in recent years under the direction of its President & CEO since 2007, Isabelle Guichot, which will bring the total number of stores worldwide to 62. In 2012, Balenciaga has strengthened in particular its presence in Asia, opening new stores in mainland China, bringing the total number of stores there to 11 by the end of June 2012. The house is running parallel expansion programmes, both in mature markets and in emerging countries as well as on the internet. Its website, initially launched in France, the United States and the UK, can deliver today in 24 countries.
PPR
The PPR Group empowers a coherent ensemble of Luxury and Sport & Lifestyle premium brands, specializing in apparel and accessories, to reach their full growth potential. Distributed in more than 120 countries, PPR generated revenues of €12.2 billion in 2011 and had over 47,000 employees at year end. The PPR share is listed on Euronext Paris (FR 0000121485, PRTP.PA, PPFP).
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Press contacts:
Balenciaga
Lionel Vermeil: + 33 1 56 52 17 47 - lionel.vermeil@fr.balenciaga.com
PPR
Paul Michon: + 33 1 45 64 63 48 - pmichon@ppr.com
Hélène Saint-Raymond: +33 1 45 64 61 20 - hsaint-raymond@ppr.com