It felt that the entire collection was a manifestation of Kim Kardashian’s viral Met Gala moment.
Speaking of a “high budget” production, according to Vetements chief executive officer and cofounder Guram Gvasalia, younger brother of Balenciaga creative director Demna Gvasalia, the Vetements fall 2022 collection cost one billion fake U.S. dollars to make.
Yes. You read that right. The brand printed 1,000 non-existent $1 million bills as the “cheapest most expensive set” for the new collection.
The thinking behind the collection is rather topical. It begs the question: what does it really mean to be rich and famous?
On one hand, the collection felt like a roast of the Nouveaux Riches, who flaunt their wealth excessively online on a daily basis, and those who made a fortune by trading in cryptocurrency. All the symbols of wealth and inflammatory online topics such as 5G, aliens and flat earth theory, were on full display across the collection as decorations.
At the same time, it felt that the entire collection was a manifestation of Kim Kardashian’s viral Met Gala moment, where she wore a black dress from Balenciaga with her face all covered and was credited for reinventing the concept of luxury for the digital age. All the models’ faces were covered in the look book.
“The truth is that in today’s world dominated by social media and its sometimes toxic environment, you don’t need to be an influencer with 265 million followers to feel like you need some privacy in your life. Luxury is no longer only defined by materials and craftsmanship. Privacy is today’s true luxury, and that’s why it needs to be reflected by luxury fashion houses,” stated the collection notes, which were presented in the form of a Wikipedia page.
Although one can argue that viral moment was inspired by Vetements originally, and the brand is just capitalizing on what’s theirs to begin with. The brand said it was the first to introduce a full blackout look with its fall 2021 collection back in January. Also, two days before Met Gala, Kardashian was first seen wearing a masked leather coat from Vetements.
The overall monotone styling definitely made the collection more elevated than before. If you can’t afford Balenciaga’s voluminous couture pieces, these floor-length puffers from Vetements might just do.
There were also some nice tailored pieces with cinched waists. The brand said they were entirely made from jerseys and molton, which are both fabrics traditionally used only for T-shirts and hoodies.
