Vetements joins up with 18 major brands for its fashion show

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Jun 30, 2016

Designer Demna Gvasalia dreamed of leaving behind the fashion system and "the rules it imposes on everyone," when he launched the Vetements ready-to-wear brand in 2014,

Gvasalia is more than ever at the heart of the Paris fashion world, with his upmarket, uber-directional streetwear brand, as well as being the Creative Director of Balenciaga. Now he has once again upended the traditions of this small world, cleverly exploiting the system.

Vetements has abandoned the traditional womenswear calendar and, instead of showing in September-October, it will do so on 3rd July, strictly within the official Paris Haute Couture week. Two months ahead of the traditional fashion calendar, it will introduce its women's ready-to-wear collection for Spring/Summer 2017, alongside a selection of men's items.

For the occasion, Demna Gvasalia had the idea of joining up with a series of brands, most of them well-known to the general public, and signing 18 official collaborations with as many specialist names in several product categories. The news was revealed by his brother Guram Gvasalia, Vetements’ CEO, in the Wall Street Journal.

The 18 partnerships link Vetements with Alpha Industries for a new take on sport jackets, Reebok, Carhartt WIP, Juicy Couture to create terry-cloth evening dresses, Champion, Canada Goose for parkas, Mackintosh for raincoats, Schott NYC for biker jackets, Eastpak for backpacks, Levi’s for jeans, Church’s, Dr. Martens, Lucchese for cowboy boots, Kawasaki, Hanes, Comme des Garçons for shirts, Brioni for bespoke tailoring and Manolo Blahnik, whose name will be printed on stiletto heels.

According to the statements made to the US newspaper, the majority of these brands jumped at the chance, and were delighted with the collaboration. It will doubtlessly afford them an unexpected amount of visibility in the sophisticated environment of Parisian haute couture, and with buyers from the world's top stores.

"This collection is a tribute to the fashion industry. It is a way of saying thank you for all it has brought us, and to show our respect for the brands which have inspired our products," said Guram Gvasalia.

It is also a way to offer the market the kind of cool products it is so fond of, like Vetements' yellow tee-shirt with the DHL logo in the Spring/Summer 2016 collection, which was out-of-stock in a few days.

Vetements is distributed via 200 top multi-brand stores, with prices ranging from $300 for a tee-shirt to $800 for a sweatshirt. The label makes indeed a habit of producing only a limited run of its most distinctive items.

Another Vetements novelty, according to the Wall Street Journal, is that from September its website will be revamped in the fashion of the old style.com website, belonging to the Condé Nast group. Nostalgic admirers are warned.