The Balenciaga fashion house and Nicolas Ghesquière have
announced their joint decision to end their working
relationship as of 30 November 2012.
Nicolas Ghesquière has been the Creative Director of
Balenciaga since 1997.
François-Henri Pinault, Chairman and Chief Executive of
PPR, said: "Cristóbal Balenciaga was a master, a genius
whose avant-garde vision dictated fashion's greatest trends
and inspired generations of designers. With an incomparable
creative talent, Nicolas has brought to Balenciaga an
artistic contribution essential to the unique influence of
the house".
BALENCIAGA
La Maison Balenciaga, which has been part of the PPR
Group since 2001, is one of the most influential names in
fashion. Founded in 1919 by Cristóbal Balenciaga and
established in Paris in 1936, it has been behind the
biggest trends in fashion from 1930 to 1968.
While the brand's identity is firmly rooted in its highly
symbolic prêt-à-porter collections, items of leather,
footwear and accessories are also experiencing success
worldwide. Among the flagship products of the House, are
the collections of handbags. Balenciaga is also focussing
on the development of its ready-to-wear collections for men
which are very successful. The brand has also revived its
prestigious past in perfumery with the creation of three
new fragrances, Balenciaga Paris, L'Essence and
Florabotanica.
Very selective at the start in its choice of distribution
outlets, the brand has now developed in an environment that
respects its spirit, through its own stores and e-commerce
sites, but also through franchised stores and concessions
in the best multi-brand boutiques across the world.
A coherent plan for the construction of a network of
directly-operated stores has been developed in recent years
under the direction of its President since 2007, Isabelle
Guichot, which would bring the total number of stores
worldwide to 62. In 2012, Balenciaga has strengthened in
particular its presence in Asia, opening new stores in
mainland China, bringing the total number of stores there
to 11 by the end of June 2012. The house is running
parallel expansion programmes, both in mature markets and
in emerging countries as well as on the internet. Its
website, initially launched in France, the United States
and the UK, can deliver today in 24 countries.
A global Luxury group, Kering manages the development of a series of renowned Houses in Fashion, Leather Goods, and Jewelry: Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Brioni, Boucheron, Pomellato, Dodo, Qeelin, Ginori 1735, as well as Kering Eyewear and Kering Beauté.
By placing creativity at the heart of its strategy, Kering enables its Houses to set new limits in terms of their creative expression while crafting tomorrow's Luxury in a sustainable and responsible way. It captures these beliefs in its signature: Empowering Imagination.
In 2023, Kering had 48,964 employees and restated revenue of EUR 19.6 billion.
At the end of 2023, the Group had a network of 1,771 stores under its own management, located primarily in Western Europe (367), North America (316), Japan (238), and in emerging countries (698).
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: Western Europe (27.6%), Japan (7.2%), Asia/Pacific (35%), North America (23%) and other (7.2%).