Many of the big questions surrounding the Fall shows were answered this morning when Alexander Wang presented his first collection as the newly named creative director of the house of Balenciaga. How’d he fair? Pretty well, where this site is concerned. Our own Nicole Phelps called the debut a “sure-footed start” for the man who replaced the inimitable Nicolas Ghesquière. But what about the man who replaced the inimitable Guido Palau? After years of helming the hair here, Palau was curiously missing from the backstage fray, replaced by strands superstar, Julien d’Ys. An editorial mainstay who is on constant rotation in American Vogue and whose backstage engagements are typically limited to Comme des Garçons shows, d’Ys was called up by Wang for his Paris premiere to deliver a sleek hair wrap accessorized with a gauzy black swathe of fabric. It was a coiffing coup of sorts, made that much more interesting by the fact that Palau created nearly the same look at Nina Ricci a mere matter of hours later, albeit with a softer finish and a Peter Copping-designed black knit band. What does it all mean? Not all that much, save for the fact that Wang and Palau are likely on a similar wavelength, which shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise considering the Redken creative consultant has been charged with hairstyling duties backstage at Wang’s New York show essentially since he started out six years ago. It merely adds up to a funny bit of coincidence that has mounted some extra intrigue, as if this show needed any more.