THE RISE AND RISE OF ALEXANDER WANG

Alexander Wang was born and raised in San Francisco by parents of Taiwanese heritage. At 18, he swapped the West coast for the East, landing in New York City to study at Parsons School of Design, but dropped out in his second year to launch his first range of unisex cashmere  sweaters.

Two years later came the pivotal moment of his first ready-to-wear runway show, where Wang started to shape his utilitarian, nonchalant and now-signature “model off-duty” brand of cool. The collection saw the likes of an olive anorak, slim, cropped leather pants and a silk crepe T-shirt dress go down the runway — all of which still feel relevant to women’s wardrobes, a dozen years later. At the time, Vogue’s runway review declared the designer as “off to a strong start”.

Wang has only gone from strength to strength since, with a long list of achievements and trailblazing moments propelling him forward: winning the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund in 2008, pioneering the sports-inspired apparel frenzy (his football-inspired Spring Summer 2010 collection was a particular hit), then launching his menswear collection in 2011, with a Best Menswear Designer nod from GQ. There was the CFDA Award for Best Accessory Designer the same year, and the honour of being the first American designer to launch a collection with clothing giant H&M soon after. Add to that a three-year stint as creative director of storied French house Balenciaga and an ongoing hit athletic apparel collaboration with sportswear giant adidas Originals, and it’s clear Wang’s got the Midas touch.

As for right this moment? There’s a praised SS 2020 collection that cleverly pays tribute to classic American designers, and a Lane Crawford global exclusive capsule collection that’s tipped to sell like hotcakes — so sign up to be notified of the drop and be the first in line, online.