VETEMENTS bring fashion week to a tacky Chinese restaurant

After VETEMENTS’ SS16 show, Susie Bubble breaks down five things you need to know about it. 

THE VENUE BROUGHT FASHION EDITORS TO A TACKY CHINESE RESTAURANT

“This is what we know and love,” said Demna Gvasalia of VETEMENTS after the show. He was describing the ultra kitschy, old-fashioned banquet Chinese restaurant Le President in Paris’ old Chinetown Belleville, but that could also the tagline of the collection. Their world is a Paris that most might never have experienced – an underbelly that is now being heard in the highest of fashion echelons (pretty much every big editor was surreally sat down in this tacky relic of a restaurant). We waited for the show to start (it was nearly an hour late) listening to a man talking about LSD looking at fake cherry blossoms and a plastic floral ceiling. Weird doesn’t begin to describe it.  

THE SOUNDTRACK ECHOED THE COLLECTION

It began with an almost comically gentle classical waltz but then it descended quite literally into Mayhem – the Norwegian black metal group. The thrashing chimed in with VETEMENTS staple logo black hoodies featuring a piss-take graphic based on Leo and Kate in Titanic and leather jackets that were constructed to be comfortable when sat on real bikes, and then deconstructed when worn standing up. The VETEMENTS jeans – which have become a cult style item – were adapted and renewed too. The core items of the VETEMENTS uniform are evolving and expanding.

IT SUBVERTED FEMININE DRESS

What was a prompt from their sales team to do more dresses became a domestic moment of nostalgia for the brand as Gvasalia and his team did their version of a feminine frilly floral dress. They were made oversized and on the models, they looked anything but prim. A floral vinyl pinafore was a reference to the Gvasalia's grandmother and her apron. These little embedded memories made the collection all the more personal.

“The label may have experienced intense hype and attention in the last year or so, but their bond remains strong and true. That will resonate far and beyond” – Susie Lau

RUSSIAN DESIGNER GOSHA RUBCHINSKIY WALKED IN THE SHOW

Russian designer Gosha Rubchinskiy opened the show in a DHL t-shirt, mirroring his take on famous iconography in his own collections. This sort of camaraderie from designer to designer affirmed that feeling of a renegade Parisian collective. Once again VETEMENTS’ own stylist and Dazed contributor Lotta Volkova walked the show, closing it in thigh high leather boots and a floor length gothy leather coat. The rest of the gang that stomped through the restaurant were all the same cohorts of the VETEMENTS circle of friends. The label may have experienced intense hype and attention in the last year or so, but their bond remains strong and true. That will resonate far and beyond.

KANYE’S CREW

The sight of the night was Kanye West and his friendship crew – Travi$ Scott (who also attended Balmain earlier in the day) and Virgil Abloh – sitting in this so-bad-it’s-good Chinese restaurant.  They hung around to congratulate Gvasalia – yet another indication that VETEMENTS won’t stay cult for that much longer.