Nicolas Ghesquière

Alexander Wang is indeed set to replace Nicolas Ghesquière at Balenciaga. According to WWD, the rumored change-up was confirmed by market sources last night, but neither Wang's nor Balenciaga's people have yet to confirm the news. Wang's nomination to take over the prestigious helm at Balenciaga — it was only announced at the beginning of November that Nicolas Ghesquière was leaving — has no doubt come off as a surprising choice. Since launching his full namesake collection in 2008, Wang has been touted as the cool New York designer, recognised for his tomboy aesthetic, slouchy muscle tees, and covetable studded Rocco bag. Meanwhile, Balenciaga's brand has always focused on tight tailoring, structure, and inventive use of color. Because Wang's boy-wonder status and business acumen have garnered much respect in the industry, it could be that Balenciaga is looking to revamp their brand, hoping to add a younger, more accessible tilt to its almost century-old luxury goods. We'll update you with details once we hear more!

French designer Nicolas Ghesquière is leaving Balenciaga — where he has been creative director since 1997 — on Nov. 30. This jarring, and very sad, news is cited by both the designer and brand as a "joint decision to end their working relationship." While there is no other announcement regarding Ghesquière's next move or, for that matter, who will succeed him at Balenciaga, we have his latest (and last) collection to serve as his final masterpiece to a 15-year relationship with the house.

Kristen Stewart brings a unique attitude and edge to Balenciaga's much anticipated fragrance, Florabotanica. Available from November 4, the juice is described as "a table of mesmerising flowers", and in this behind-the-scenes video from the Steven Meisel campaign shoot, Kristen really brings the fragrance's message to life. Also featuring Nicolas Ghesquière who discusses why Kristen is so perfect as the face — he has previously said he captivated her when they met a few years ago. Want to see more of Kristen? She also sat front-row at Balenciaga in Paris last week.

Balenciaga Paris’ new fragrance, Florabotanica, is "not just a pretty flower, but a pretty dangerous flower." Fronted by Kristen Stewart, it is the first scent she has ever worn. The 22-year-actress told WWD that due to her tomboy tendencies growing up, stealing her mum's perfume wasn't high on her list of priorities. "I was like hanging out with my brothers and doing the opposite of that," she said.

So why now and why this juice? "There is something natural about it," she explained. "It’s very alive. I think that as a young person wearing it — considering that I’ve never worn a scent — it kind of puts you on this level of, like, 'Whoa, check me out.' " The actress also admits she would have done anything related to Balenciaga designer Nicolas Ghesquière, who first fell for Kristen back in Panic Room. She's of course come a long way since then, being named Hollywood's highest earning actress last year.

"Even though, yes, it's an ad and we’re selling a fragrance — I don’t want to sound pretentious — but I want to be part of this art project," she said. "I want to be around Nicolas when he gets excited about fabric. I want to see the look on his face when he sees me put on a dress."

We love this mature, feminine side of Kristen! What do you think of the campaign?

Most shows wouldn't be able to top collapsing benches, which in turn led to collapsing editors, but such a small snafu couldn't deter the magnificence seen on Balenciaga's Spring runway showing. Staying true to the brand's signature style, Nicolas Ghesquière showed dramatic structure, volume, and space-age fabrics. “I don’t know if oversize is the right term for that type of construction,” Ghesquière told WWD. “But this famous, and for me, a very functional, concept of Cristobal is the idea of the space between the body and the fabric. The clothes float away from the body. It’s one of the big iconic things of Balenciaga. The fluidity of floating is beautiful, but it is something else. . . I think it’s something that Balenciaga invented." Shiny jewel-toned structured jackets, short shorts, graphic tops, fringe-like cellophane skirts, and pleated and folded trousers all rendered the cool, ultra-modern aesthetic the designer is known for. The dresses, ranging from oversize tunics to midi-length patchwork creations, were impossibly chic and innovative. Ghesquière, who is also famous for his covetable accessories, showed sharp and angular cutout booties and gorgeous leather oversize clutch bags.

• Trends: Structure, high shine, short shorts, patchwork, pleats, folds.
• Colours: Purple, dark gold, black, lavender, yellow, peach, red, sage.
• Key Look: All of the round-shouldered structured jackets.
• Accessories: Oversize visor hats, statement cuff bracelets, large leather clutches, sharp and angular cutout booties.
• Who Would Wear It: Women who crave ultra-modern statement pieces.

Get a good look at what's in store from Balenciaga . . .