Balenciaga Might Have Found Alexander Wang's Replacement

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Ever since we got the news that Alexander Wang and Balenciaga were calling it quits, we've been wondering who would take over as creative director as the esteemed French house. News of the split broke back in July, and three replacements for Wang are just starting to emerge.

As The New York Times' Matthew Schneier writes, the three most heavily-rumored replacements for Wang all run their own labels, and two of the candidates have prior experience at Balenciaga. The first is Julien Dossena, who currently helms label Paco Rabanne, and worked at Balenciaga during Nicolas Ghesquière's tenure. Bouchra Jarrar also worked at Balenciaga with Ghesquière and has her own namesake label.

The most outside-of-the-box successor is Sacai's Chitose Abe. However, Abe, who is an alumni of Comme des Garçons, creates edgy and sporty looks at both her own label and for Nike collaborations — meaning she would most likely continue the dominating aesthetic from Wang's time at Balenciaga.

It's not a coincidence that two out of the three designers mentioned for the Balenciaga job have ties to the house, either. "Balenciaga is thought to be considering candidates with experience, either past or present, at the house," Schneier writes.

Both Jarrar and Dossena declined to comment, while a spokesman for Abe says she had not been contacted by Balenciaga. Wang will show his last Balenciaga collection in Paris tomorrow, so expect to hear about a succession plan sooner rather than later.