He set the fashion world on fire, and there's a good chance that you can't say his name: Demna Gvasalia (pronounced DEEM-Nah go-AH-Liyah). Learn it fast. As both the principle Vetements designer and the new artistic director of Balenciaga, the 34-year-old from Georgia (the country, not the State) has risen in just a few short seasons of relative unknown to the most talked about the tastemaker on both sides of the Atlantic.
Vetements impact, in particular, has been nothing short of seismic-especially on the street. During every month sets, which just wrapped up in the French capital, you can't take a Fendi bag without hitting an editor, designer or blogger wearing Hooded Jackets now the signature brand. Hooked, too, are high-powered celebrity Kim Kardashian, Rita Ora and Selena Gomez. Rihanna, you're never far from a trend, even came out last month in a head-to-toe of the hell hot spring lineup of the label. Not bad for an indie company that is almost as old as the North West.
Vetements, named after the French word for clothes, was formed at the beginning of 2014 as a side project by a collective of seven designers who initially remained in anonymity. Their first seasons attracted cool kids and a handful of influential insiders to Offbeat Parisian locations-an art gallery, the basement of a gay Club, a kitsch style Chinese restaurant to see the clothes: -smart and reconstructed riffs on sportswear basics with absurdly large proportions. Think pós-normcore.
By the second year, Gvasalia-who studied at the Royal Academy of fine arts of Antwerp before stints in Maison Martin Margiela and Louis Vuitton-had been identified as creative lead. Last fall, he was tapped to replace Alexander Wang in Balenciaga. Last week, his debut collection for the House floors attracted praise. And now? Wish lists.
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