Vetements's secret project promises nothing short of “replacing fashion’s traditional conglomerate structure,” says CEO Guram Gvasalia.
Vetements Is Launching a Secret Project: Here’s All the Details
Vetements isn’t on the Paris men’s schedule, but even in its absence it’s making noise. The brand launched a new Instagram account, and on its original account announced a “secret project” and a launch date of July 22, just shy of four weeks from today.
The video mashes up clips of mega-cities, a large apartment block, and iPhone wielding crowds, with an overhead shot of groceries being scanned by a teller. A building explodes, then another reconstitutes itself. The final image is a closeup of an eye overlaid with a barcode. So, what does it all mean? Nothing short of “replacing fashion’s traditional conglomerate structure,” says Vetements CEO Guram Gvasalia. On a phone call this afternoon he shared more details.
It’s not just a secret project, it’s a platform.
GG: “We’re launching a new brand. It’s not actually just one brand; it’s the first milestone in the whole situation. We’ve created the Gvasalia Family Foundation, and we’re starting with a new experimental laboratory. It will be a multi-dimensional platform for young talent, which hopefully one day could replace the traditional conglomerate structure and redefine co-working spaces and co-creating experiences. It’s very difficult in this industry that is quite monopolized by really big, big conglomerates for a young talent to survive. If you start your own project, it’s extremely difficult to get the minimum for production to buy the fabrics, to launch things, to do all the paperwork, and so on. So a lot of brands, they start and it’s very difficult to succeed. Or you go to a corporate structure and then you just get frustrated because it’s not you who is creating. The merchandising teams are telling you what to do.
We want to start something where we will give chances to talents, not just young talents. I think young talent is the wrong word because there are people who’ve been in the industry, who are maybe not in their 20s, but in their 40s and who still feel the desire, you know, to do something that they truly believe in. So I am saying we’re giving chances to talents of all ages to be free and to create brands that are not dictated by merchandising teams, where creation comes from the true place: within. Like it used to be back in the days. When Margiela was doing shoes with scotch tape, no one was telling him how many units of scotch tape he’s going to sell.
This story originally appeared on: Vogue - Author:Nicole Phelps
