Alexander Wang joins Balenciaga

The recent departure of Nicolas Ghesquière from the Balenciaga design house, and his "replacement" by Asian-American street-savvy designer Alexander Wang (as if Ghesquière could ever be replaced!), caused some fashion critics to bristle. Would Cristóbal Balenciaga have approved? Señor Balenciaga never masked his aversion for the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture, the bourgeois regulating commission that determines which fashion design houses qualify for the designation of "haute couture" houses. He also frequently challenged the press by submitting his designs for press coverage weeks after the customary deadlines, in order to sabotage would-be copycats. The defiant Balenciaga might have welcomed Alexander Wang with open arms. The New York Times has a good article on Mr. Wang's new post here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/09/fashion/an-american-in-paris-again-alexander-wang-at-balenciaga.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0