Alexander Wang – Profile of a Top Fashion Designer
Alexander Wang is one of the best when it comes to edgy and boyish women’s wear designs. He has a way of playing it out with colors and is most well known for his casual but “ready-to-walk-down-the-catwalk” designs. Although of Chinese descent, Alexander was born in the United States from Taiwanese immigrant parents in 1986. He spent his first 18 years in California where he studied several schools up to his high school years. At the age of 18, he moved to New York to pursue his passion in fashion designing and he enrolled himself in the Parsons School of Design, one of the most prestigious fashion design schools in the country. During this time, he was able to work under many top designers such as Marc Jacobs and Derek Lam.
But things did not really go out as well as planned. Alexander Wang dropped out of the school on his second year and instead went directly into launching his first ready to wear line in 2007 with his name brand, Alexander Wang. His collection was very chic, with a touch of French and the nineties style, casual and most of all, a hit. His collection was dominated by beautiful sweaters which he mostly hand-knit himself. During the release, the line was sold in over 200 stores. A year later, Alexander won the Vogue fashion Fund which earned him $200,000 of cash money to expand his collections.
Aside from women’s apparels, Alexander also launched his first footwear collection in 2009 which were mostly towering platform sandal designs. Alexander Wang’s signature is his detailed and perfect craftsmanship on any kind of material, from cashmere to denim to cardigans and others. His designs also have a trademark of having fine clean lines, polished and definitely very modern which made it hit for the young and the trendy. He is also a big fan of empire dresses where his designs are a perfect fusion of sophistication and edginess. Today, he has a growing number of fans including top celebrities that are embracing his smart and casual looks.
Aside from his first Vogue award in 2008, his works have been recognized many times throughout the years. In 2009, he won the Swarovski Women’s Wear Designer of the Year. On the same year, he received the Swiss Textiles Award. And finally, in 2010, Alexander Wang won the Swarovski Women’s Wear Designer of the Year for the second time, this time around in the accessory category.
Today, Alexander Wang has taken permanent residency in Manhattan which he regards as a rich source of inspiration – the culture, the music and the downtown day-to-day grinds. Many fashion experts say that it is hard to pinpoint one single style for Alexander Wang because the designer has a way of playing around with colors and lines. But his designs never go without a touch of rock and roll, the one style that will never go out of touch. He is known today as one of the most promising young minds in the fashion industry and is now starting to rival even the oldest and the most established names in fashion.
Source by Shirley Applegate