WWD reports that Vetements forgot to mention something when it unveiled its fall 2022 collection late last month: It can be credited to Guram Gvasalia, who has now officially been named creative director of the Zurich-based fashion house. Cofounder of the brand, Gvasalia has been the chief executive officer since its inception, having forged strong relationships with a wide swath of the world’s top specialty retailers and department stores.
Gvasalia has also dreamed up collaborations with the likes of “Star Wars,” extended the brand into food with a signature burger, masterminded a second brand Vtmnts, and functioned as the house spokesman, talking editors and retailers through the collection each season. Announcing the launch of its Vtmnts brand last month, the house said it was the first step in creating “a new version of what a conglomerate could look like.”
The brand has been without a creative director since co-founder, and Guram’s brother, Demna Gvasalia, stepped down from Vetements in September 2019. Demna had been doing double duty, also acting as creative director of Balenciaga since late 2015.
At the time, Guram Gvasalia touted Vetements as a “collective of creative minds.” Now, he continues to stoke mystique around the brand, declining all comment on when and if he might replace himself as CEO. The executive is also something of a bon vivant and fashion plate, partial to crocodile boots, Hermès leather goods and high-quality basics like T-shirts and cowboy shirts — as long as they are black.
In a press release written like a confessional letter, Gvasalia said the change was made to protect the brand and “claim back Vetements’ original birthright. “But it is not the only reason why I am doing this. It’s true, I could have done it secretly as I’m a very private person,” Gvasalia wrote. “But I felt I needed to come out publicly for all the kids out there who dream of fashion, but are too afraid to tell it to their parents who will not approve.”
He referred to his childhood in Georgia during the civil war, when the family fled to Germany and going to fashion school seemed like a pipe dream. “Vetements since Day One is built on creativity. And I want to make sure that all the young people out there know — you do not need to have rich parents, you do not need an investor, you do not need to sell your soul to big evil corporations — you can make it on your own. You can change your life with your own creativity and passion,” Gvasalia wrote.
Founded in 2014, Vetements and Demna Gvasalia are widely credited with sparking the streetwear trend in fashion, and bringing a hard-core, underground energy to the international fashion scene. Like most brands, Vetements pivoted to film and look-book drops during the pandemic. Asked if he might ever take a bow, should Vetements resume physical runway shows, its new creative director replied: “Maybe one day.”
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