Why Nicolas Ghesquiere Left Balenciaga and What He’s Doing Next (According to Cathy Horyn)

 

News of Nicolas Ghesquiere’s departure from Balenciaga seemed to surprise everyone from Style.com, whose feature about him in their new print magazine offers no real clues, to Cathy Horyn, who just offered up some insight as to why Ghesquière may have decided to leave.
While Ghesquière declined comment, Horyn spoke to “a number of individuals, who requested anonymity because of their dealings with PPR,” who confirmed speculation that Ghesquière has been frustrated with Balenciaga and PPR.

They tell her that his frustrations “go back at least a year and involve matters like financing and a more commercial tone to some of Balenciaga’s lines” and that “his concerns were being insufficiently addressed by the PPR chairman, François-Henri Pinault.”
She also speculates that the freedom with which Hedi Slimane rebranded YSL (a fellow PPR label) may have been a “source of ire” for Ghesquiere. “Mr. Ghesquière may have disagreed with these kinds of decisions as a matter of principle,” she writes.
Horyn ends her report on a very juicy note: “Meanwhile, Mr. Ghesquière could wind up doing something with LVMH (there is already talk about that), or just take a little break.”
What could that mean? LVMH funding his own line? What is made clear in Ghesquiere’s Style.com/Print feature is that it’s very important to him to stay true to himself and his own ideas, so if LVMH wants to give him an opportunity to do that, we’re totally on board.