With the initial speculation regarding Alexander Wang’s replacement at Balenciaga and the fashion world’s consequent reaction to the appointment of Vetements’ Demna Gvasalia, here are the reasons we’re excited about the label’s future with him at the helm.
1. Demna Gvasalia is a fashion cowboy and punk as fuck.
2. He pierced his own ears.
3. He recycles.
4. Magazines as well as 501s.
5. He likes greasy hair.
6. And he believes a lady should carry her cigarette lighter bond style.
7. He’d never take the final bow at the end of a Vetements show.
8. Instead he celebrate his friends – employing fellow designer Gosha Rubchinskiy to walk his show.
9. He casts little known instagram models.
10. Even though he is fiercely ‘anti-selfie’.
11. He had a habit of dragging uppity fashioistas to Parisian sex clubs (Le Depot).
12. He gave us permission to hack the hems off our jeans (photo above from @vetementsofficial)
13. To spend winter in toasty boyfriend sized bomber jackets.
14. And to wear sleeves too long to use our iPhones.
15. He claims ‘down to earth is the new black’ (we agree).
16. Instead of spending money publicising their designers, he argues that brands should be focusing on their product and their consumer.
17. Ikea is his aspiration for a future collaboration.
18. And he believes in authenticity.
19. Gvasalia was challenging the ideals of shape and gender binaries before it was even a thing.
20. And after that he altered your idea of flattering proportions.
21. He thinks French youth culture is dead.
22. He has a wardrobe building approach to his collections and claims to stay away from trend focused design.
23. He hates the word ‘cool’ even though he can not think of its replacement.
24. His inspiration comes from ‘freaks’ VS ‘normal things’ – a combination he hopes translates as ‘just a tiny bit off’.
25. He hails as ‘post-anti fashion’.
26. He attributes the success of Vetments to the democracy of its collective.
27. Similar to Balenciaga’s founder Crisóbal, Gvasalia understands fashion’s need for constant re-invention.
28. He will not go to the left bank.
29. Friday night sees the Vetements’ studio turn into a disco with free wine for all who show up (police included).
30. He made those floral dresses…
31. And those masculine jackets.
32. He calls jeans ‘denim pants’.
33. He is yet to design a fall offering because he believes that “seasonal themes force pieces into a certain ‘creative frame’ that doesn’t necessarily serve a given piece of clothing”.
34. He calls his $1,450.00 price tag for a pair of ‘denim pants’ accessible.
35. And finally, because he implores everything – from people to spaces and ideas – to be exactly who or what they are. No pretense.
Credits
Text Britt McCamey