If you're still mourning the break up between Balenciaga and Alexander Wang, the Wall Street Journal's coverage of a typical day in the life of the designer will help crystallize just why he needed to strike out on his own.
Since taking over at Balenciaga in 2012, Wang has guided two massive brands. Balenciaga is a historic French fashion house while Wang's namesake label, in its 10th year, currently makes $100 million in sales annually. Balancing both required a Herculean effort from Wang, who worked 11-hour days and made back-and-forth trips between New York and Paris. Flying is really the only time Wang gets to relax. "Flying’s very therapeutic," he tells the WSJ. "It gives me a chance to reflect."
Wang would send himself 20 e-mails a day in order to stay on top of responsibilities for both brands. The designer also stayed in a Paris hotel for 12 weeks a year while designing collections for Balenciaga and deservedly treated himself to four massages a month. The grueling schedule will hopefully slow down now that Wang only has one ship to steer, but it's not hard to understand why the designer may have been looking to leave after reading this.
You can read about a typical day in the life of Wang here.
