Alexander Wang’s Balenciaga collection for Fall is on point. Wang’s take on Balenciaga’s accessories was as Iris Apfel would say,’ More is more + less is a bore’ with a model carrying not one but three bags (above center), while keeping everything else very simple. I loved his color blocked gloves, especially those with touches of grey (row 4, look 3).
Zippers were everywhere – when not used as decorative accents including in contrasting colors including radiant orchid zippers on an olive coat (row 3, look 2), they were used as piping (row 2, look 3). The zippers gave way to a futuristic minimalism that just crossed over into structure. Wang led into architectural silhouettes + nuances, with various folds including pants with a 3D tuxedo stripe going up the left leg, crossing over the right hip, then paired with a satin knot-front bodice + a sweater with a pearl encrusted arc. Wang referred to this look as ‘kind of reference a ball gown.’
But Wang’s main objective for this collection was introducing a knitwear vocabulary to Balenciaga. The designer explained to WWD, ‘It’s something I felt was never very much present in the research that I was doing, + since I started in knitwear, I felt it was an appropriate starting point.’ Wang also added how ‘every single look or piece has an element or a surface or a visual or a stitch related to knit,’ very much like the yellow cable knit toggle coat below which seems to be coated in silicone.
(photos: Giovanni Giannini)
(via WWD)