From the Chiasmus archive: "Vetements. Ready-for-Wear Spring 2022." Posted May 31st, 2021 by CHIASMUS MAGAZINE BLOG.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

(Images: Vetements 2021)

The epitome of luxury fashion that embraces so called anti-fashion, most certainly would be the brand Vetements.  With its creative director and owner Guram Gvasalia who maybe a shrewd business minded individual, he nevertheless, along with his brother Demna Gvasalia, now at the helm of the famed Balenciaga brand name, have both had a significant impact on the fashion industry.  After Guram’s Fall 2021 collection that harnessed a darker resonance in its perception of Hell and its Purgatory or as the Hebrew religion states a Gehenna, which is more of less a wash cycle of souls, Vetements mythological imprint of late in light of this tumultuous world we all live in, could be in testament to what Aldous Huxley once said in reference to our hellish predicaments, “Maybe this world is another planet’s hell.”   Setting forth another large array of Guram’s latest styles for Spring 2022, which holds the said themes of Hadean and its paradoxical humanity, once again combining both menswear and women’s styles into one massive showcase.     

Regardless of the said themes, there is something so damn cool about the Gvasalia duo, maybe it’s the exclusivity and playing around with oversize fits ala the exaggerated shoulder pads, in its offhand mockery to traditional styling yet at the same time offering a well crafted collection. Or could it be the ragtag European-esque looking models that have assisted in setting a precedence in defining the Vetements concept.  Whatever the reasoning of why Guram’s concept of his structural and deconstruction aesthetics, is the overall fixture of the brand as an example of how to cultivate one's own ideas, rather than shifting and changing at the whim of markets.  Guram’s Vetements has been able to hold the course, creating its own niche, its own market.

The Spring 2022 collection is vast, at 129 pieces with the previous Fall 2021 collection offering 126 pieces, these huge presentations of the next season styles could be in lieu of the supply gridlocks that have been crimped by the global pandemic, which, inevitably will effect prices, so Vetements dearly-won price tag, may have just become even more expensive.   Business is hell and the business of fashion is of course no different, the COVID-19 pandemic may have somewhat abated in Europe and America, at least in its current strain sans the ever changing mutations. But, 2021 may also herald other issues, which could once again effect this interconnected world.    All the while were given a wake up call from nature without it being consciously aware of humanities suffering, that overconfidence is indeed our curse and probably at the end of the day, it will be our downfall. 

Guram’s latest styles, like past collections, are as well tailored as you would expect from the Vetements styling ethic, whilst also delivering a slicker more distinct edge, this could be in preparation for the runway shows and full blown fashion weeks due mid/late 2021.  And it is Vetements Spring 2022 collection which has up the ante in preparation, despite the vastness of its array and clever portrayal of digital lookbooks which fashion designers relied on throughout 2020, by removing background images, leaving just an unfilled digital area.  Like a blank space, with only the models portrayed,  possibly a visual precursor of leaving the digital relays behind and onto a live show at some-point this year.   There are so many stand out pieces displayed, it is hard to pinpoint a favorite, as they all work well within Guram’s lookbook template. 

I’ll leave you with another Aldous Huxley quote:

“Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.”

---

Authored: A.Glass (2021)