Wang's World
Alexander Wang is turning his brand into a lifestyle by assembling a cast of cool-kid musicians, models, actors and more to promote his Fall 2016 collection. Dubbed the #Wangsquad, Wang and his crew’s undeniably cool, urban ads feature everything from tongue-in-cheek penis cartoons to models chowing down on McDonald’s. With standouts like Cindy Crawford’s daughter/clone Kaia Gerber, and of course, Kylie Jenner, this squad looks like it’s ready to lead the fashion world down a rabbit hole, and we’re all prepared to fall down it with them.
Last week Wang and several members of the squad took to Instagram to share the first teaser clip promoting the fall campaign and it was steamy AF. While the rest of the squad is getting down and rowdy to a Skrillex beat, Kylie Jenner and model Anna Ewers have their own bathroom dance party as Kylie’s beau Tyga comfortably watches from a bathtub. It’s safe to say that Wang’s group of fashion renegades know how to throw down and the party seems to go wherever they do. In the past, they rode golf carts and raided the wine cellars of lush Hollywood mansions, as if it’s all in a normal day’s work.
Alexander Wang definitely knows what’s up. He’s rewriting fashion’s rules in the most explicit way possible and using squad power to do it. The members of his #WangSquad epitomize the grittier side of fashion by breaking the cookie cutter molds. They look like the kids your parents dubbed “bad influences.” Their refusal to conform is enticing and their unpredictability is being celebrated. They’re bad-asses who couldn’t care less about what you think of them, and there’s something extremely compelling about their too-cool-for-school attitude that has the fashion world fixated.
The #WangSquad Instagram page is slowly blowing up, which is where you can keep track of Squad activity and find out exactly who’s who. Standouts include rappers Travis Scott and Vic Mensa, Future’s go-to producer: Metro Boomin’, actress Zoe Kravitz, and skater Curren Caples. While there’s definitely the exclusivity factor in being a group that was hand-selected by a fashion genius, more than anything, the Wang Squad looks like a chill group of friends having fun together and living their lives. Wang’s strategically relaxed campaign settings include subway stations, bodegas, and even pet shops, which he somehow elevates to embody a high-fashion environment.
Maybe we loWve the #WangSquad because they don’t seem to care whether or not we love them. They love to party and they do it well. There’s a strategic chaos to their group dynamic that’s keeping people on their toes and propelling them even further. As they color outside the lines, boundaries for fashion seemingly change to fit their creativity, and we’re excited to see what this squad has in store for us.
