Villaseñor presented two seasonal collections while he was there. His debut in September 2022 was the first runway show Bally held since 2002. Bally CEO Nicolas Girotto said that he admired Villaseñor’s “multidisciplinary approach, with his background in art; his love for craftsmanship, music, travel, and designs; and his ability to engage and build community with his genuine positivity.”
Villaseñor had a surprisingly short run at Bally. Like Virgil Abloh and Matthew M. Williams before him, Villaseñor was the latest example of a luxury brand tapping someone from the streetwear world to help reenergize itself. The difference is, Villaseñor was given much less time to execute his vision for the Swiss brand. Even though Villaseñor brought in a new logo, expanded on their womenswear line, and boosted Bally’s annual sales by 20%, it seems that wasn’t enough. Alternatively, he’s hinted at disagreeing with the larger Bally team at times, telling Vogue that his team advised him to “fuck up” his collections by adding sneakers into the line. At the same time, Villaseñor also told Elle that he wanted Bally’s brand identity to be so strong that “when you look at a flower arrangement, you think of Bally.”
Bally Didn’t Give Rhuigi Enough Time
Villaseñor is far from being the first fashion designer to leave a major fashion label or luxury house as quickly as he entered. In fact, research conducted by WWD revealed that the tenure for creative directors at major labels has become shorter (usually less than five years). But when Villaseñor came to Bally, the Swiss luxury label hadn’t hired a creative director in five years and its last runway show was nearly two decades before. Ramirez believes the label needed more time with Villaseñor.
“A year to turnaround a brand that has already been dead is very little time. I don’t think it’s fair enough to just rely on a creative director to do that,” says Ramirez. “Within the year they brought this designer, they brought Bally back to the runway and some celebrities got behind it, but very little. That hype doesn’t instantly happen overnight. It does take a little bit of time and especially when you’ve lost an audience for a long time.”
While similar critiques about Villaseñor and Bally could be made about Matthew M. Williams and his work at Givenchy, time has certainly been in Williams favor. It also helps that Givenchy has previously had a popular run with creative directors like Riccardo Tisci. Ramirez feels that Bally doesn’t necessarily have that past to lean on.
“Givenchy has had its name and I think it’s a great example of a brand that’s hot and sometimes it’s not. So some of these names have had their ups and downs,” says Ramirez. “Bally, to be fair, I don’t know if they even know who their customer is. I feel like they’re starting from scratch.”
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