From Designer to CEO, Alexander Wang Is a Man with a Plan

It's been just over a year sinceAlexander Wangran skipping and smiling down the runway, taking abow after his last Balenciaga show. Following a three-year stint as creative director at Balenciaga, Wang returned to New York re-energised. With experience at one of the industry's most revered and elevated fashion businesses and a new learnings to apply to his own namesake label, he was now, as he puts it, "anAmerican brand of Asian descent with European training."

In June,the company announcedthat in addition to his role as designer, Wangwould take on the role of chief executive and chairman, replacing his sister-in-law and mother, respectively.Today, the Alexander Wang business is said to turn over about$150 million in revenues with over three hundred employees spread across New York, Paris and Hong Kong. The company declined to provide actual sales figures but says the business is growing at double-digit percentages annually, with revenue split equally between apparel and accessories.

But in theworst year for the fashion industrysince the financial crisis of 2008, running and growing a fashion business is difficult, even for the most seasoned of executives. How is Alexander Wang doing it and how will he drive and shape the business in his new role? Here, he speaks exclusively to BoF about returning to New York, balancing the roles of chief executive and creative director, and his first 100 days as CEO of hisbrand.

From Designer to CEO, Alexander Wang Is a Man with a Plan. Photo: BoF

BoF: What was it that first motivated you to take on the position of CEO?

AW: I always had my sister-in-law as the CEO, and as we grew, and as we expanded, we brought on sales leaders, merchandising leaders, etcetera.

When I got to Paris, it was a very different way of working. Not good or bad, but just different in the sense that everything was very silent. The sales team had their own conversation, the creative teams had their own conversations. I never worked in that way. It was always about transparency, over-communication, and an intent to know each other’s expectations and goals.

When I came back, there was definitely a different viewpoint in how I wanted to be involved with the company. And the discussion of CEO, with my sister, had been something that was going on for a while — she had two kids, I was growing up and I wanted to take on more responsibilities — and it kind of just led to this.

I’ve always had an innate sense of the business side, and that’s something that’s always interested me. Just having the creative, for me, it wasn’t enough. Essentially, when you’re a creative, you’re a dreamer, and when you’re a business person, [you’re focused on] execution. A dream is only a dream until you execute it.

Alexander Wang. Photo: Chad Batka for The New York Times

I like to use creative thinking when it comes to business decisions, and I always like to use business thinking when it comes to creative decisions.

BoF: So you’re a creative executioner then?

AW: I’d like to say so. I like to get things done. I like to see things come to fruition. I like to use creative thinking when it comes to business decisions, and I always like to use business thinking when it comes to creative decisions. The more that I can be that bridge between the different functionalities within an organisation, the more I feel proud of the work we’ve done together as a team.

The way that teams work is very much that you don’t have to know everything else that everyone else does, but you have to understand their intent. If you are a designer, you have to understand why the merchandisers are looking for certain things. You have to know why the press and communications teams are asking for certain things. You don’t have to know the span of it, but you have listen to it.

BoF: So what have been the biggest changes you have put into place?

AW: Efficiencies in role clarifications. I think that we grew so fast and organically that a lot of the time, people that have been in with us for a long time took on responsibilities where they were unsure how to function [within the team]. Kind of like, where does that person leave off, and where do I pick up?

It sounds really dry, but it’s like setting up a RACI model —Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed. At the end of the year, when people get bonuses, they want to know why they got it, why they didn’t. You kind of have to back it up with information. It’s very hard to set up those kinds of accountability structures.

Alexander Wang Spring/Summer 2017 Photo: InDigital

BoF: Almost by definition, it seems you must be spending less time on the creative stuff and more time on the business stuff than before?

AW: Yes, but the time I spend on the creative is much more efficient. When I go to a creative meeting now, they know that we have to set up by delivery, by price point — having [already] met with merchandising. So I’m not sitting there going this should go into this pile; this should go into that pile.

Because we grew organically, the most dangerous thing you can do is go on cruise control when you’re at a junior — or even at a senior level — in terms of a day-to-day. There weren’t enough questions being asked on a day-to-day basis.

You can’t move forward without taking a risk. And if people are afraid of taking a risk because they don’t want to make a mistake, then they kind of just go into cruise control and say I’m just going to do the same thing that’s been told to me over and over again and that’s been done in the past. I think especially in this industry where things change so drastically every single day, you have to want and be willing to take risks and change and question the way you do things every day.

BoF: Do you think the brand will change as you change?

AW: Definitely. I feel like it. It’s a hard balance because you want to make it a brand that stands on its own. I’m not a teenager, I’m not in my twenties anymore, now I’m 32, and what is my life about? But still, what are the things that I feel that I can still detach myself away from. That’s why I have two Instagram accounts. We have a company one, and I have my personal one. It’s important that not everything about myself is something appropriate to be communicated through Alexander Wang the brand, but there is still Alex Wang the person, you know? And creating that separation is, I do feel, important.

Alexander Wang's signature cut-out heel Photo: Courtesy

BoF: Is that an example of how thinking about Alexander Wang as a business has impacted the creative side?

AW: [Take] our little cut-out heel. It’s something that we’ve had since 2009. It’s always done really well. We’ve kept it in every collection. I would say probably within the last year-and-a-half, it really blew up. We were like, “Where is this coming from?” I don’t know if it can be defined by one moment, when everyone started buying them.

(BOF)