balenciaga

Is Natacha Ramsay in the Running for the Balenciaga Job?

Photo: Liam McMullan/Patrick McMullan

It’s been 72 hours since Nicolas Ghesquière and the fashion house decided to “end their working relationship” (on November 30), and the list of possible successors is growing to Dior-like proportions, without the Dior-like waiting time — yet! Yesterday, WWD reported Alex Wang, Altuzarra, Bouchra Jarrar, Kostas Murkudis, Mary Katrantzou, Christopher Kane, J.W. Anderson, Thomas Tait, and Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough as candidates; today, Fashionista tossed Olivier Theyskens’s and Pedro Lourenço’s metaphorical visors into the ring. Here’s an idea: Maybe Dior should send its list to Balenciaga, or, you know, Balenciaga could Google “designers.” But, as the Guardian points out, “one name that hasn’t been greatly discussed is Natacha Ramsay, Ghesquière’s first assistant.” She joined Balenciaga in 2002 right after graduating from Studio Berçot, being hired on as a stylist, and moving up the ranks since then.

The Guardian adds: “A quieter choice, it wouldn’t be the first time a designer from within a team had successfully taken over. See Phoebe Philo at Chloé during the Stella McCartney years, and more recently Sarah Burton, following the untimely death of Alexander McQueen.” Ramsay, frequently pictured in some state of undress on Purple Diary, is also known as Olivier Zahm’s girlfriend, ex-girlfriend, re-girlfriend, and now soon-to-be mother of his child, with Zahm telling the Cut about her pregnancy at Carine Roitfeld’s CR Fashion Book party in September. Sure, Balenciaga would have to handle maternity leave if Ramsay is ultimately the Chosen One, but NBD (see Phoebe Philo at Céline). We reached out to Zahm via e-mail to find out if he had any insight to contribute to this post, and a spokeswoman responded, “OFFICIALLY : ‘No comment.’” Anything UNOFFICIALLY?

Natacha Ramsay in the Running for Balenciaga?