Balenciaga’s New Designer Is the Coolest Man in Fashion Right Now

A few months ago, it was reported that Alexander Wang, maker of dark, drapey, tailored gear and sporty sweats, would be leaving his post as creative director of Balenciaga to focus on his namesake brand. The news came as a shock to many, as Wang had only been with the storied house for a brief period of time. Naturally, the rumor mill immediately started churning out names of who would replace him. Chitose Abe, designer of Sacai, was at one time thought to be the front-runner, but today it was announced that Demna Gvasalia, head designer of Vêtements (it literally means “clothes” in French), got the gig. Previously, Gvasalia was a designer for Louis Vuitton and Maison Margiela, and attended the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Belgium (where designers like Dries Van Noten, Raf Simons, and Martin Margiela himself also got their starts).

Why is this big news? Well, though fashion can often exist within a vacuum, step inside it for a moment and you’ll see that Vêtements is currently the hottest label in the game. Its cartoonishly oversize jackets and paneled jeans, which will set you back in the several thousands, have both been coveted with the feverishness normally reserved for limited-edition sneakers. In fact, though the womenswear-only label has only been around for less than two years, the clothes have been so universally loved that even guys have started wearing them, from designer Gosha Rubchinskiy (who was a model in the label’s Spring-Summer 2016 show) to Kanye West.

Of course, this tells us little about what Gvasalia will bring to Balenciaga, but it seems that the house couldn’t have picked a more buzz-worthy man for the job.

A look from Vetements Fall-Winter 2015