Vetements is – by its very nature – collaborative. Comprising of a semi-anonymous group of designers led by Demna Gvasalia, the label produces its now twice-yearly collections as a team. For their spring collection, which will be presented next Sunday as part of Couture Fashion Week, the group has taken this idea of collaboration even further, working with over 18 brands to create the line.
Taking their clothes-first approach, they decided to work with a specific brand on a specific product. “We really thought about each garment,” Gvasalia said in an interview with Cathy Horyn for The Cut. “What is the first brand that comes to mind when we think about, for example, workwear pants? So we went to Carhartt.”
He goes on to list the other brands they approached – Levi’s, Hanes, Manolo Blahnik, Juicy Couture, Carhartt, Eastpak, Canada Goose, Lucchese, Mackintosh, Dr. Martens, Reebok, Church’s, Alpha Industries, Champion, Kawasaki, Schott, Comme des Garçons, Brioni and more which are yet to be announced.
It’s an assorted mix, to say the least, ranging from high fashion labels like Comme and Brioni to brands at the other end of the spectrum like Champion and Juicy Couture. Speaking on the latter – which is perhaps the most surprising of the bunch – Gvasalia says, “I love the comfort of it and the trashiness of it,” Gvasalia says. “But then we wanted to do something elegant with it, so we made evening dresses.”
“The idea was always to take the iconic, the most recognisable product from their brand, and put it into a Vetements frame, whether in terms of shape or construction,” he goes on to say. They went to Manolo Blahnik for the shoes, Brioni for the tailored jacket, Levi’s for the jeans, Alpha Industries for the MA-1 bomber and Schott for the biker jackets. These collaborators – several of whom Horyn spoke to – all seemed to jump at the opportunity to work with Vetements, despite their unorthodox approach.
“I told Mr. Blahnik, ‘Well, we’re going to destroy the shoes. Are you okay with that?’ And he said, ‘Well, I love that. Please, please, please, destroy them,’” Gvasalia recalls. By email, Blahnik told Horyn that he was delighted to be involved, saying, “What they are doing is very clever and new.”
Head to The Cut to read more.
Vetements SS17 show takes place on Sunday 3rd June. Stay tuned for coverage.
