AKA the punks of 2019
Vetements is a bit like that one ex – you’re never quite sure when they’re going to turn up. After last showing during couture in July, the brand rejoined the menswear schedule, concluding a day which included shows by Rick Owens and Louis Vuitton. Here’s everything you need to know.
IT TOOK PLACE IN THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
Which meant in an enormous room full of taxidermy zebras, giraffes, rhinos, gazelles, and pretty much every type of monkey you can think of. As models emerged onto the runway, they wound a trail around the vast hall as the animals looked on. The idea apparently came to Gvasalia when he was eating pizza and watching Night at the Museum with friends: “I didn’t know there was a Natural History Museum in Paris but when I found out I thought it was the perfect place to show,” the designer explained backstage. “It’s full of dinosaurs and stuffed giraffes... What I was trying to express in this collection was the ‘next step’ in evolution.”
THE COLLECTION WAS ALL ABOUT THE INTERNET
In this case, that evolution was technological: the AW19 collection was inspired by the internet, with Gvasalia even dipping his toes into the dark web for research. “We got some people to show us the dark net, which is kind of the backstage of what we know as the internet. That was our starting point, like, how far can you go?” he said. “Then as we got more into our research we kind of realised that geeks have really become the new punks. They’re changing the world! With the smartphone for example. So this was my tribute to what these new punks and grunge kids are doing today.”
THE SHOW HAD AN ‘EMO KIDS ON A SCHOOL TRIP’ KIND OF VIBE
As the show got underway, models with greasy curtains took to the runway in super wide-leg jeans layered with massive sweatshirts, plaid shirts, and thrifted dresses, as well as XXL hoodies, puffa jackets, and wide-shouldered blazers. Finishing off the looks were chunky trainers (obvs) and hefty leather boots, even bigger backpacks (including one shaped like a teddy bear), balaclavas, and something altogether more surprising: one model made his way around the space carrying a VHS copy of Scream.
THERE WERE LOADS OF GRAPHIC PRINTED PIECES
Pretty much every look featured a graphic print in some form or another. Slogans including ‘It’s my birthday and all I got was the overpriced hoodie from Vetements’ (LOL), ‘It’s Hocus Pocus time witches’, and ‘I survived swine flu, so now I'm vegan’ featured across some looks, while others bore Interpol logos, camels, ‘anarchy’ emblems, and, as part of an homage to a t-shirt worn by Kurt Cobain on the cover of Rolling Stone in the early 90s, ‘Corporate magazines still suck a lot’.
...AND SOME LOOKS TO GIVE YOU IPHONE PRIVACY
Towards the end, there were also some pretty unique hooded looks that allowed the models to peer down at their phones without being recognised: an idea that came to Gvasalia as he realised it was pretty hard to do research on train trips between Paris and Vetements HQ in Zurich without someone spotting him. It goes without saying he can sign us up for one of those.