Last year we were invited to Isabel Marant and H&M collection’s party, which took place in Paris, and have provided the freshest impressions of the bohemian, Parisian mood colored designer’s collection. This year, the latest name to amaze us in H&M list is New York star Alexander Wang and SwO team had the opportunity to interview him. Enjoy!
Photo: Steven Klein.
Monika: What is, in your opinion, the stylish “benchmark” for today’s woman – from inside qualities to the external looks?
Alexander Wang: My interest has always been in the pieces that you want but can’t find, a very unprecious outlook on the wardrobe essentials that women wear everyday. It’s pieces like T-shirts and jeans, or in the ALEXANDER WANG X H&M collection it is sportswear pieces like gym tops and running shorts. It’s about taking the pieces that you wear every day and elevating them with wit, humour and experimental techniques. I wouldn’t say there’s one benchmark of style for every woman, more an individual woman’s choice of the pieces in which she feels the most effortless and natural.
Tekle: As a creative person, sometimes you probably find yourself hesitating or having second thoughts about the results of your work. If so, how do you cope with that and what motivates you to start over again and again until you’re satisfied?
Alexander Wang: I work from instinct and gut feelings. It is how I started my label, and how it’s always evolved. It is important for me to be as passionate about my work as the very first day that I started. There is no room for complacency – I challenge myself with every collection that I do.
Edgar: Tell us about the collaboration with H&M – did you find yourself dismissing any key elements of your style in the process of this collection?
Alexander Wang: The ALEXANDER WANG X H&M collection represents an essential element of the Alexander Wang DNA. There’s always been the influence of performance and sportswear in my work, but this is the first time I’ve dedicated a full collection to it. It’s been a great opportunity to focus on the elements of sportswear that I find so appealing, whether it’s all the functional details and the new technologies used, or the attitude you get when you make sportswear that’s not just for the gym, but for everyday life. The collection is a full wardrobe of pieces, whether it’s functional outerwear that acts like armour for the city, urban essentials like leather jackets, performance gym pieces, or dresses that take inspiration from sportswear.
Ieva: There is an obvious stylistic difference between “Alexander Wang” and “Balenciaga”. Which label brings more pressure and liability – the personal one, keeping and evolving the real “you”, or the one with historical trail that obligates to continue its story and longtime traditions while interpreting it in a way that would appeal to a modern customer?
Alexander Wang: I really like the balance I have between my own label and my work at Balenciaga. My own label is a personal project, where it’s up to me to set the codes of the house, and to decide how we evolve into the future. Balenciaga is one of the most renowned Parisian labels, with a
long-established heritage and some of the most respected codes of any fashion house. There, it’s my job to push the house forwards, and make these codes relevant today. The two are very distinct to me, not just by their location, but the work that I do at each.
Akvile: Tell us about the lifestyle pleasures that you enjoy when you are not working?
Alexander Wang: When I’m not working, I love to hang out with my friends, doing regular things.
Photos: ALEXANDER WANG X H&M.
