You’d be hard-pressed to name a brand that is being talked about as much right now as Vetements. Since its inception in 2014, the label and the collective behind it have dominated the fashion conversation thanks to their refusal to play by the rules, their tongue-in-cheek approach to design and their playful adoption of pop cultural symbols. If you need proof of their influence, just look at the oversized shoulder silhouette that they pioneered, which has rippled throughout the runways to an almost laughable extent. Following on from their last show, which made entirely with other brands (17, in fact), this afternoon Vetements presented their AW17 collection – and here’s what went down.
Show invites often provide the opportunity for brands to get creative, and for them to drop hints about the theme or nature of their show. This season, Vetements created invites resembling driving licenses and other forms of identity cards, each printed with name and nationality of each guest, along with the location of the show: Paris’s foremost modern art museum, the Centre Pompidou.
THE LOOKS WERE BASED ON FASHION STEREOTYPES
The ‘chav’ and ‘secretary’ at Vetements AW17
‘Chavs’ at a Couture Fashion Week show. Your mid-00s self would never have believed it but, true enough, Vetements sent a look inspired by the British working-class stereotype down the catwalk this afternoon – dressed, of course, in a matching tracksuit, leather pouch and baseball cap. All that was missing was the Burberry print. Other stereotypes outlined in the show notes included emos, stoners, nerds, bouncers, secretaries, and Parisennes. In this collection, the styles of these groups have been Demna-fied.
THE CAST REFLECTED THESE STEREOTYPES
The cast of the show reflected these different stereotypes and barely any of them were professional models. Some of Vetements’ crowd did hit the catwalk, such as the show’s stylist Lotta Volkova, DJ Clara 3000 and artist Eliza Douglas. However most of the cast were street cast and represented a wide range of ages, body types and ethnicities.
THE SHOW CLOSED WITH A BRIDE
Vetements AW17
While Vetements has been showing as part of Couture Fashion Week for the last two seasons, their clothes don’t resemble haute couture in the conventional sense. This afternoon however, they adopting one of the practice’s age-old traditions: closing the show with a bride, showing the world what bridal wear á la Vetements looks like.
