Former Balenciaga designer speaks out

Designer Nicolas Ghesquière has spoken out

for the first time since his departure from Balenciaga last year.

After showing his last collection during Paris Fashion Week in October, the designer left the French fashion house one month later, after having been at the creative helm for 15 years. The reasons for his departure were never clearly cited.

Ghesquière, in an interview with System magazine, stated: "It all became so dehumanised. I began to feel as though I was being sucked dry, like they wanted to steal my identity while trying to homogenise things. It just wasn't fulfilling anymore."

"I never had a partner, and I ended up feeling too alone," he said. "I had a marvellous studio and design team who were close to me, but it started becoming a bureaucracy and gradually becoming more corporate - until it was no longer even linked to fashion. In the end, it felt as though they just wanted to be like any other house."

Balenciaga has since appointed American designer Alexander Wang. Wang is expected to bring greater commercial potential to the House, which owners Kering (formerly known as PPR) is keen to grow.