Career of Alexander Wang
Wang launched his full women’s collection in 2007. The collections are now selling to over 700 stores worldwide, with the brand having 16 stores in 7 countries. He was the winner of the 2008 Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA)/Vogue Fashion Fund Award. In the November 2010 issue of Vogue in remembrance of winning the award in 2008, in an article entitled “The Aluminati”. In 2009, he was recognized by his peers when he was announced as the winner of the Swarovski Womenswear Designer of the Year. Later that same year he was the recipient of the Swiss Textiles Award. Wang was celebrated again in 2010 with another Swarovski Designer of the Year Award, this time in the Accessory category. In 2011, GQ US acknowledged Wang as the Best Menswear Designer of the Year. That same year he also won the CFDA’ s Best Accessory Designer award. In October 2013, Wang was honored with the ‘Fashion Star’ awarded by Fashion Group International. The award was presented to Wang by Hamish Bowles, European Editor-at-Large of Vogue US.
Alexander Wang’s first flagship store opened in SoHo, Lower Manhattan, on February 17, 2011. Wang has helped to rejuvenate an otherwise dissolving area into fashion’s Lower Manhattan epicenter.
Vogue.com stated about his Resort 2012 women’s ready to wear collection June 2012; “Although Alexander Wang isn’t designing uniforms for the 2012 Olympics, his phone will likely ring off the hook next time around now that this collection’s out … We were inspired by competitive swimmers, cyclists, and girls prepping for marathons,” Wang said at the primary-colored presentation, where perforated track vests, patchwork windbreakers, and utility track pants (accessorized with heeled sneaker-sandals) were skillfully translated for his urban loyalists. It was a focused and confident collection from the young designer who disclosed plans to open a two-story flagship in Beijing in 2012. “I never really did sports growing up,” he said of the underlying sensibility that’s been with him since the start. “Maybe that’s why they intrigue me. The technology that goes into that clothing is steps ahead, so it’s always been something I look towards.””
On November 30, 2012, Women’s Wear Daily reported that Wang has been named Creative Director at Balenciaga after Nicolas Ghesquière departed from the French house. As Creative Director for Balenciaga, Alexander Wang would oversee the Women’s and Men’s ready-to-wear and accessories lines. His debut Fall-Winter 2013 Balenciaga collection took place in February 2013, at the historic Balenciaga salons located at 10 avenue George V, Paris, 75008.
On April 13, 2014 it was announced that Alexander Wang would be the next designer to create a collection for Swedish-based fashion retailer H&M. The collection was available at H&M stores and online November 6, 2014. The collection with H&M included pieces for both men and women, as well as a selection of his famed accessories. The news was unveiled via the designer’s personal Instagram page
On July 31, 2015, Kering issued a press release announcing that Wang will leave Balenciaga by mutual consent.
In 2016, Wang became the CEO and chairman of the Wang brand, succeeding his mother, Ying Wang, and sister-in-law, Aimee Wang. Later that year, he was awarded $90 million in damages after successfully suing over 45 defendants operating 459 websites that sold counterfeit goods bearing its name, although the reward is mostly symbolic, as neither Wang nor the brand will likely receive that amount. Wang hosted a 2016 New York Fashion Week show.
In 2017, Wang was named one of HypeBeast’s HB100, their top 100 influencers in the industry.
