Balenciaga Fall 2013 RTW

 "I'm going back to the roots, identifying the codes of the house, and translating them into a functioning, full wardrobe" - Alexander Wang

The sudden news of Nicolas Ghesquière's departure from Balenciaga had left the fashion world stunned. With only three months to work on the collection, New York designer Alexander Wang, was appointed to take his place! Wang had some seriously big shoes to fill, and I must say he did a great job. A hard, marble runway and a subdued atmosphere was the scene at Alexander Wang's debut collection for Balenciaga. The venue of this long awaited show was a quiet setting on the Avenue George V. The collection in itself was beautiful. The strategically done cut outs, the breathtaking shapes and the gorgeous prints all made up for the lack of colour in the monochrome assortment of clothing. The monochrome trend was definitely brought to light in this collection. To keep the looks from seeming boring there were interesting textures and a blown out silhouette similar to the ones seen at Burberry Prorsum's Spring 2013 show. Although the collection was a great way to launch Wang's new reign in Balenciaga, I felt he played it slightly safe. He could have incorporated more of an Alexander Wang feel to his first collection, however the clothes were stunning yet functional. 

The all black theme was widely seen at the Balenciaga Fall '13 show. However the dark hue was absolutely not boring. To the contrary the interesting cut outs and midi and maxi length dresses were brought to life. If Alexander Wang decided to make these dresses bright blue, it would take away from the beautiful minimalism and simplicity. 

Although black was the colour more widely used, prints were a significant part of the collection. The print had a marble effect, much like the runway, added an appeal to these slightly safe looks. From high neck lines to exposed décolletage the prints were not the only thing that fascinated. The exaggerated shapes and silhouettes seen throughout the whole collection were the work of a genius. 

Balenciaga's take on the simplistic everyday wear was conservative, but edgy. Even though a basic black and white combo has been around for years Wang gave it a sophisticated and classy touch. 

The picture above displays my favourite pieces in this collection. The textures, silhouettes and prints of the garments paired with the simplest of shoes work coherently to make the perfect fall look.