In the year In 2019, designer Alexander Wang was accused by several people of assault, touching and other sexual harassment. Wang, who initially denied them, appeared to realize the truth of those allegations in 2021, apologizing to the victims and laying low for two years.
Alexander Wang made the trip to New York on Wednesday night after spending the past two years growing his business in China. Depending on the audience, you’d never know the brand was in tatters two years ago.
It was, for Wang, the first major defeat in his comeback attempt. The business has not had any problems since its inception, it has two new big investors from China, Challengers Capital and Yongor Group, and it earns more than 200 million dollars annually and plans to double that in the next five years. But the fate of his name in the New York fashion scene was in question. He sat out the last NYFW, instead showing in Los Angeles. His first show back in New York was billed as “The Return of Love,” held in the space that once housed the famous Jing Fong restaurant before it moved from Elizabeth Street to Center Street.
With a black and white zebra print floor and floor-to-ceiling red curtains, the scene looked like nothing more than a black lodge from “Twin Peaks.” The haunting vibe isn’t helped by the bombastic “Phantom of the Opera”-esque music.
But the question of whether the world of fashion will show up for Alexander Wang is answered. The audience of 150 people was filled with a who’s who of New York’s fashion elite. Anna Wintour, Harper’s Bazaar’s Samira Nasser and CFDA CEO Steven Kolb were spotted. Julia Fox and Gabriel Bechtel walk down the runway. And celebrities like Nikita Dragun and Ava Max were also in the crowd.
The warm reception from the fashion world, however, was not the case with the critics. On social media, reactions ranged from mildly angry to downright hostile.
Fashion writer Luis Pisano openly criticized some of the positive coverage Wang’s show received and the influencers and celebrities who helped make it come back.
“I’m not at all surprised by the reception the show has received,” Pisano told Glossy Over DM. “Last year we saw the resurgence of Alexander Wang’s edgy image, which was put in people’s heads mainly by famous friends and current stars, and if that kind of person thinks he’s cool again, then I probably am too.”
Dolce & Gabbana recalls the way they went from an industry pariah – after a series of controversies, leaked DMs with Stefano Gabbana’s racist comments – to return to prominence, thanks to the support of celebrities like the Kardashians.
“The reality is that we work in an industry where wealth and fame are the source of money, and the proximity to that and the possibility of achieving that in and of itself makes a lot of people take a stand on serious issues,” Pisano said. , are we expecting middle-class pop singers and influencers to have any sort of moral compass? Alexander Wang is still famous at the end of the day, and the power of celebrity unfortunately often breeds judgment.
