Whose feathers is Alexander Wang ruffling?

NY-Times Fashion & Style column (December 7) introduces Alexander Wang who was recently appointed as the Creative director of Balenciaga under the headline, “An American in Paris, again,” which is followed by the lead copy:

“The young, streetwise Alexander Wang is taking over at Balenciaga, putting him front and center among his generation — and ruffling more than a few feathers.”

I'm interested in the phrase, “ruffle (somebody's) feathers.” OALD defines “ruffle sb’s a few feathers as “to annoy or upset sb or group of people.

Did he annoy or upset the fashion world or his generation, instead of being frankly applauded for his success?

I’m asking this because the author takes it for granted by saying; “It is fitting that Mr. Wang should become the first American designer to take on a big, historic European design house since Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors and Narciso Rodriguez went to Paris in the late 1990s.”

Oishi-san, if you read further down, you'll see whose feathers are being ruffled:

Early in his career, when critics said he was too commercial, Mr. Wang said: “I don’t see that as a negative thing. It is something I actually enjoy.”

But it is for the same reasons that his appointment at Balenciaga — nearly a century-old fashion house that was thoroughly modernized over the last 15 years under the considered eye of Nicolas Ghesquière — bothers so many people, or at least the fashion purists. Some established designers, grumbling privately because they did not want to be seen as meanies, see the change as symbolic of a broader watering-down of creativity in fashion.

It is the fashion establishment whose feathers are being ruffled — those snobs and purists who believe fashion is the preserve of the elite only.

Alexander Wang is 28. A lot of people think he's too young to run a 150-year-old European house with a reputation like Balenciaga's. Plus, he's been charged with devaluing couture by building a line around upscale t-shirts, shorts, and sweatshirts. This focus on high end "street fashion", which became a commodity in the US around 2010 with the explosion of fashion blogs and tumblrs devoted to amateur, out-and-about fashion photography--like The Sartorialist and Liam Saw This, shaped the lines of high fashion designers like Wang, Michael Bastion, and Marc Jacobs. Jacobs is one of few American designers who have traveled to Europe to head a top house, and he's currently (at Louis Vuitton) the only one who has survived there. However, many Europeans remember his "grunge collection":

and how it tanked, and they may [my speculations] see something similar in Wang's street style:

It is this style that many "meanies" consider to be a "watering down" of classic couture.

By comparison, this ensemble from Balenciaga's FW 07 line:

In short, it is his age, perceived inexperience, and "democratic" street style that have ruffled feathers.