Fashion Focus: all about Alexander Wang

 

 

 

Name of the brand: Alexander Wang

Name(s ) of the designer(s):  Alexander Wang

About the designer(s):  Alexander Wang (1984) was born and raised in San Francisco. He moved to New York City at the age of eighteen to try his hand at designing clothes. He studied one year at Parsos and did an internship at Teen Vogue. Then he decided to quit school and launched his first collection. It was immediately very well received. Everyone loved his perfectly crafted cashmere sweaters.

Start of the brand: 2007

First collection: spring 2007

The Wang woman: has a streetchic style and likes to mix and match

Wang women: Rachel Bilson, Mischa Barton, Lindsay Lohan, Erin Wasson, Megan Fox, Mary-Kate Olsen, Nicole Richie and Gwyneth Paltrow

The clothes are: edgy, masculine, well taillored, casual, cool, sexy vs androgyny, French chic and rock grunge. They are always finished with a slouchy rolled-out-of-bed edge.

Type of clothes: Alexander Wang makes a full range of ready to wear pieces, from distressed boyfriend jeans and shrunken vests to, of course, covetable cozy cardigans. The inspiration comes from the street and thus the clothes have a downtown feeling.

Signature: model-off-duty style

Collaborations: Alexander Wang for Keds (Fall 2008), Alexander Wang for Uniqlo, capsule collection (May 2008).

Quotes:

• ‘There are pros and cons to starting so young. In the beginning, people said, ‘I’ve never heard of this person, he’s what, 21?’. There are stereotypes, but the greatest satisfaction has been proving them wrong.’
• I didn’t have any investors. My mum and I, my sister-in-law and my brother, we’re the four partners”
• It’s all those quirky people you just bump into that inspire me the most.’
• “When I started out, I wanted to pick one familiar item that evoked luxury—cashmere was perfect. But moving forward, I want to make it more of a lifestyle brand. I kind of want to be the new Theory.”

Awards: he won the CDFA Fashion Fund, which was 20.000 USD.

Extra:
Wang’s favorite outfit is skinny jeans, T-shirt and a backpack
He has a simple belief that has taken him very far: ‘I’m in New York City – I can do anything I put my heart to.’
He got an internship at Marc Jacobs
He always keeps in mind an advice Marc Jacobs gave to him: ‘Give them something that’s going to take time to sink in. By the time they get it, change it again – you’ve got to keep them guessing!’
He showed his first collection to an editor at Teen Vogue. She loved it
He was already cutting frocks at the age of fifteen
He named one of his shoe designs after Dutch Model Mirte Maas
(The pictures you see are of the fall/winter 2010/2011 collection)