BREAKING FASHION NEWS: NICOLAS GHESQUIERE LEAVING BALENCIAGA

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

Nicolas Ghesquière by Irving Penn (image via Vogue.com)

PPR has this afternoon announced that Nicolas Ghesquière, who has been Creative Director at Balenciaga since 1997, will be leaving at the end of this month. Despite his long tenure, the news comes as something as a surprise after fashion's recent period of "musical chairs" seemed to have settled down. Indeed, amid the excitement of the debut collections from Raf Simons at Dior and Hedi Slimane at Saint Laurent last month, Nicole Phelps ended her glowing review of Balenciaga SS13 with a statement underlining the house's importance in the Paris mix...

"What Ghesquière did today was a reminder to us all that Paris fashion isn't a two-man game."

SS13 flounces from Nicholas Ghesquiere at Balenciaga

Rumour has it that Ghesquière has been holed up in New York during the Sandy chaos and was spotted shopping in Barney's and "holding court in [the] tea room" (via @JillKargman). There has been plenty of praise for Ghesquière from key industry figures as news broke...

Balenciaga ‏@BALENCIAGA

Thank you Nicolas for bringing back all Cristobal Balenciaga’s values and creativity. Read more: http://bit.ly/PRpj5I 

Dazed Fashion Team ‏@Dazed_Fashion

Nicolas Ghesquière & @BALENCIAGA are to part ways at the end of this month after a spectacular 15 year collaboration that shaped 00s fashion

Derek Blasberg ‏@DerekBlasberg

Very depressing news for my well-off, fashionable fans of avant garde, conceptual French fashion: Nicolas Ghesquière to leave Balenciaga.

Alexandra Shulman ‏@AShulman2

Nicolas Ghesquiere unarguably one of the biggest talents in fashion leaving Balenciaga where he has been incredible 

There is already speculation that Stefano Pilati, who recently left Yves Saint Laurent and had landed a post at Ermenegildo Zegna might be a prime candidate to take the reins. Watch this space...