DOCUMENTING EVERY VETEMENTS COLLECTION (SO FAR)
VETEMENTS BRAND OVERVIEW & HISTORY
Vetements, a clothing brand headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, offers a diverse range of men's and women's fashion inspired by everyday styles and ordinary people. Several years ago, Vetements gained immense popularity in the fashion world, especially with its Spring/Summer 2016 collection. One standout piece from this collection was a modified yellow DHL t-shirt, worn on the runway by Russian fashion designer Gosha Rubchinskiy.
Demna Gvasalia, the founder of Vetements, originally completed his education at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp in 2006. He entered the fashion industry as a womenswear designer for Maison Martin Margiela in 2009, sharing common influences with the renowned Martin Margiela and the other members of the Antwerp 6, given their shared alma mater.
After his stint at Maison Martin Margiela, Gvasalia served as the head designer for Louis Vuitton's womenswear for two years, starting in 2012. Later, in 2014, he ventured out to establish his own fashion label, Vetements.
While founder Demna Gvasalia has since moved on to work as the creative director of Balenciaga, Vetements continues to create and sell fashion collections. Despite the shift, the brand maintains a devoted fanbase.
This article serves to document every Vetements collection. Vetements is committed to two collections per year and do not release resort or pre-fall type capsules. Below we feature every Vetements collection released to date.
VETEMENTS AUTUMN/WINTER 2014
Autumn Winter 2014 was Demna Gvasalia’s first collection for he and brother Guram’s now iconic Vetements brand. Elegant staples of the wardrobe, perfected to the nth degree with a focus on subverting fashion’s established ruleset, are what the brothers and their anonymous collective had in mind.
Trench and duffle coats of inflated proportions, raw hems and lustrous supple leather coalesced in a timeless yet subversive collection of 36 garments which Demna and Gurum would revisit and reproduce in 2016.
VETEMENTS AUTUMN/WINTER 2015
Vetements’ Autumn Winter 2015 collection showcased a new development in the style of the Gvasalia brothers and their collective’s output for the brand. Elegant dress and playful proportions were still core, but bold logos and a more daring and edgy approach to wardrobe staples cemented a new disruptive look. Asymmetric oversize tailoring, spliced ‘Antwerpen’ hoodies and security personnel uniforms built a new landscape.
VETEMENTS SPRING/SUMMER 2016
Vetements’ Spring Summer 2016 collection combined elegance with eclecticism, and innovation with tradition.
Champion and DHL were among the collaborators for this season, along with reworked garments from Levi’s and Juicy couture. A dark colour palate of monochromatic black and Grey pedestalled neon yellow and other bright garments.
Dishevelled elegance is perhaps the most succinct way to describe the collection, with beautiful oversized tailoring, raw hems and asymmetry brought together with Demna Gvasalia’s cohesive streetwear meets high fashion sensibilities. Russian fashion designer Gosha Rubchinskiy opened the Gvasalia brothers show, which took place in a Chinese restaurant. This was the collection that ultimately brought the brand Vetements to the public eye.
VETEMENTS AUTUMN/WINTER 2016
Vetements’ Autumn Winter 2016 collection, headed by Demna Gvasalia, continued the brand's mission to disrupt conventions of fashion and merge street and high fashion cultures.
Graphic hoodies and t-shirts spelt out: ‘You Fuck’n Asshole’, ‘Are We Having Fun Yet’ and ‘May The Bridges I Burn Light The Way’. Anarchy Hoodies, ‘Big Daddy’ caps and the brand’s iconic oversize bomber jackets featured alongside tailoring in heritage check and houndstooth fabrics. Canada Goose collaborated with Vetements for their offering this season, and so the Canadian brand’s outerwear made a feature in the Gvasalia brothers collection, with a knockoff label of course.
VETEMENTS SPRING/SUMMER 2017
Vetements’ Spring Summer 2017 collection was described by the Gvasalia brothers as more like 18 separate collections, created in collaboration with the likes of the Rome based Brioni, Comme Des Garcons Shirt, and Canada Goose amongst an extensive list of brands.
For the most part, manufacturing was carried out in the collaborating brands' own specialist factories. Oversize tailoring, elongated sleeves as seen on Reebok’s track jacket and Champion’s ‘Antwerpen’ hoodies, and bomber jackets were classics of the house’s now firmly rooted design language.
VETEMENTS AUTUMN/WINTER 2017
Vetements’ Autumn Winter 2017 collection was a step up for the Gvasalia brothers label, with a breakaway from the everyday hoodies and t-shirts to a high fashion exploration of archetypes through a Vetements lens.
The designer's approach was to reappropriate the social uniforms which we see around us, brought into the Vetements universe through oversizing, distressing and exaggerating proportions. The collection is a collage of competing materials: fur, leather, clear PVC and soft cotton; a rich collage of everyday life.
VETEMENTS SPRING/SUMMER 2018
Vetements’ Spring Summer 2018 collection tweaked house classics in a less political and more garment-oriented display, “I wanted to go back and perfect things we did in former seasons. It’s kind of a best of, I suppose. And I felt quite liberated by that” Demna told Vogue.
DHL, Umbro, Reebok and Tommy Hilfiger were among those who collaborated with the designer for this collection, which saw leathers, overcoats and sharp tailoring take centre stage amongst sportswear and uniform pieces.
VETEMENTS AUTUMN/WINTER 2018
Vetetments’ Autumn Winter 2018 collection titled ‘The Elephant in the Room’ by Demna Gvasalia began at the flea markets, much like Raf Simons’s Autumn Winter 2001 collection ‘Riot! Riot! Riot!’. The designer also took Martin Margiela’s propensity for reconstruction and applied it to his own oeuvre.
Tartan scarves and jacket detailing, crumpled shirting and tailoring, distressed denim and a variety of camouflage patterns contributed to an eclectic flea market vibe. Demna paid homage to Martin Margiela directly with tabi-style boots in traditional leather materials, and the more subversive choice of duct tape.
VETEMENTS SPRING/SUMMER 2019
Vetements’ Spring Summer 2019 collection drew on Demna Gvasalia’s experience of the Georgian civil war at a young age, and the subsequent relocation of his family.
Military camouflage, full-face balaclavas and tactical boots gave a militant edge to the collection which leaned strongly into the designer’s elegant streetwear aesthetic, cultivated at Maison Margiela and Balenciaga. Graphics shouted Gvasalia’s love for Georgia and his solidarity with those seeking refuge from modern civil and military turbulence. The runway presentation of this collection featured street-cast Georgian models.
VETEMENTS AUTUMN/WINTER 2019
Vetements’ Autumn Winter 2019 collection, headed by Demna Gvasalia, explored the cultures surrounding the dark web.
The designer derived inspiration from delving into ‘‘The hidden digital world behind the wall’ as he put it to I-D magazine. Demna found this season’s youth focus in the ‘geeks’ who he saw as the new punks, using the internet to voice their discontent and incite change. Streetwear was dominant across the collection, with hoodies and training jackets displaying ironic slogans and Interpol and faux bureau insignia.
Adobe’s Lorum Ipsum placeholder text featured on many of the garments, a comment on the emptiness of words perhaps, a call for action maybe.
VETEMENTS SPRING/SUMMER 2020
Vetements’ Spring Summer 2020 collection made jabs at all things corporate, reflecting Demna Gvsalia’s personal experiences and his an anti-capitalist ethical agenda.
The Vetements show took place in Paris’s largest McDonald's restaurant, the show notes were printed onto branded napkins. The collection itself featured graphics in the style of prominent corporate logos such as Bose, Playstation and Heineken to name a few. Large security-style bomber jackets, oversized pinstripe tailoring and emergency service wear explored the echelons of the corporate world.
VETEMENTS AUTUMN/WINTER 2020
Vetements’ Autumn Winter 2020 collection took the brand back to its roots, with its perfectionist approach to everyday clothing and uniforms worn by civilians an emergency service personnel. Guram Gvasalia took the lead on this collection, with Brother Demna focusing his attention on Balenciaga.
Graphic t-shirts read ‘No social media thank you!’ and ‘The power of youth’. The brand is notorious for its logo knockoffs, and this season was no different, featuring Metallica, Harley Davidson (Replaced with Unicorns) and The North Face. The word ‘Censored’ was prominent throughout the collection, pasted across chests and crotches. The look was a merging of the slick with the DIY.
VETEMENTS SPRING/SUMMER 2021
Vetements took a break for Spring Summer 2021, though they released several drops throughout the season to select retailers.
VETEMENTS AUTUMN/WINTER 2021
Vetements’ Autumn Winter 2021 collection was conceived during the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, amid strict lockdowns. Guram Gvasalia created an extensive array of garments with a youth-centric feel, and a message of hope, spread through Vetements's distinctive approach to graphics, printed across Prince of Wales check tailoring and t-shirts alike.
Knockoff logos from Fruit of the Loom, Balenciaga and Juicy Couture made appearances for this season, along with the Vetements of ‘Hello My Name Is’ name tags. ‘Think While It’s Still Legal’ was a clear message to the isolated youth in the wake of the January 6th attack on Washington D.C.’s Capitol building.
VETEMENTS SPRING/SUMMER 2022
Vetements’ Spring Summer 2022 collection delved into the matrix, exploring our digital lives and the loss of human connection that may have come with it through deconstruction and layering. Printed fabrics with Matrix-like lines of green code are the most obvious reference to the film franchise and philosophical theory.
Anarchy Symbols, Doodle defaced garments and corporate logos are familiar sights in the Vetements milieu. ‘The Devil Doesn’t Wear Prada’ appeared on hoodies: The humorous Vetements collective once again showed why they are fashion's favourite anti-fashion label.
This collection also saw every model wearing Oakley sunglasses in true Matrix fashion.
VETEMENTS AUTUMN/WINTER 2022
Vetements’ Autumn Winter 2022 collection sought to push ‘the savoir-faire for the new era’ as Guram Gvasalia detailed to Vogue, that is to say the craftsmanship, attention to detail and cultural awareness.
Luck, wealth and luxury were themes explored through one million dollar bills, fruit machine coins and scratch cards which all feature as repeated prints. There are fewer logos for this season, however, the Only Fans logo and The Simpsons typeface made an appearance. Gvasalia explored denim and oversize tailoring to a greater extent than previous collections, taking Vetements back to its roots. Whilst heritage fabrics were used, suiting rendered in jersey fabric shined through, with a post-lockdown focus on comfortability.
VETEMENTS SPRING/SUMMER 2023
Vetements’ Spring Summer 2023 collection saw the Gvasalia brother's childhood experience of the 1991 Georgian Russian war expressed through fashion once again, this time through the eyes of Guram specifically.
The collection also drew on the now sole creative director's experience as a gay man and the feeling of taboo towards his sexuality.
The collection was a timely show of empathy for Ukraine which was invaded by Russia in February of 2022. Tailoring in pinstripe, checkered cloth and block colour made up a large portion of the collection, along with the expected military bomber jackets and utility wear.
VETEMENTS AUTUMN/WINTER 2023
Vetements took a break for Autumn Winter 2023.
VETEMENTS SPRING/SUMMER 2024
Vetements’ Spring Summer 2024 collection was a show of enormous proportions, pooling fabric and the intersection between art and fashion. Sized down from the sixteen times oversized scale, the commercial collection brought the best of the season to a more wearable size.
Military Green and Midnight Blue satin bomber jackets, scribbled denim and immaculate tailoring in Giorgio Armani style beige were created in a way “that would give the look and feel of an AI generated image” Guram Gvasalia told Vogue, though the message at the heard of the collection is totally anti-AI.
WHERE TO BUY VETEMENTS?
We recommend FarFetch to buy the latest season's Vetements. However, to buy rare pre-owned Vetements, the TRUSS app is the best destination.
