The rapidly-expanding Gucci Group, which already controls Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent along with numerous other fashion enterprises, has acquired 91% of the French firm Balenciaga. Nicolas Ghesquiere, Balenciaga’s chief designer, will continue as creative director and will have a 9% stake in the prestigious fashion house created in the 1920s by Spaniard Cristobal Balenciaga.
This latest move by Gucci is part of an aggressive strategy, which began in 1999, of investing in young designers and ailing brands with the goal of creating a conglomerate of different labels united under the Gucci Group.
The company's recent acquisitions have included hot designers Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen, who are to develop their own labels with the group. And now Balenciaga’s Nicolas Ghesquiere - who just last month won the International Designer of the Year Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America - is the latest hot property to come under the Gucci Group umbrella.
Tom Ford, creative director of Gucci Group, said, “Nicolas’ design talent is evident and this combined with his energy, intelligence and charm, will guarantee continued success. I am thrilled that Nicolas has decided to work with Gucci Group and I am excited about the future of Balenciaga.”
Ghesquiere, who joined Balenciaga just six years ago, is credited with helping the label regain its position as an influential fashion house, and is cited as one of the outstanding fashion success stories of recent years. “Since I started with the house of Balenciaga, my only wish has been to give it the international radiance it once had,” said Ghesquiere. “I am very happy to have found in Gucci Group the ideal partner who shares that vision.”
The massive fashion conglomerate, which will allow Balenciaga to operate with “full creative autonomy”, plans to develop the label focusing on women’s ready-to-wear, accessories and fragrances with a plan to eventually open flagship stores in the world's fashion capitals.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
