Nicolas Ghesquière’s Balenciaga Top 10: A look back at the designer’s best and most influential collections

SPRING 2007, SPRING 2008 AND FALL 2007 SHOT BY PETER STIGTER

Take a look back at Nicolas Ghesquière’s Balenciaga Top 10 »

As any entry-level fashion historian might know, clothing is as good a representation of what’s going on in the world as any. At a more micro level, its one of the best ways to chart changing aesthetics through time. What better proponent of so many of fashion’s most recent aesthetic shifts than Nicolas Ghesquière, creative director ofBalenciaga, who announced today that after 15 years with the brand, he’d bestepping down. As someone who was so affected by Ghesquière’s genius while carving through my own fashion discovery (namely the one-two punch of Spring 2008 and Spring 2007), this news is real sucky. On the bright side, it’s a great time to look back at just how unbelievably influential Ghesquière was in starting so many recurring trends.

There’s a Tumblr account devoted to his foresight, aptly named Balenciaga Did it First, and hero-worship aside, it’s right on-the-money. It wouldn’t be exaggeration to say that Nicolas Ghesquière was the first to introduce so many looks that we call staple—the gladiator sandal, the blazer-with-anything look, the dropped crotch pant—the list goes on. He was the first to re-issue the Tron love. The first to stick Warholian flowers onto armour. The one who made those goddamn sci-fi sweaters as omnipresent as they are today.

Since we’d rather celebrate than mourn, we look back at Nicolas Ghesquière’s most memorable hits for Balenciaga. We’d be shocked if you couldn’t find one likeness in your wardrobe today.