Georgian takeover of Balenciaga.
Have you ever heard about Demna Gvasalia? If you're familiar with the fashion industry, I think you did. But what's his story? Let’s find out!
In 2014 Demna launched his own brand VETEMENTS, stepping in as a creative director, while his brother was appointed as the brand’s CEO.
The brand quickly found traction with consumers and the industry alike. It's unique and couture take on streetwear sensibilities stemmed from Demna’s focus group: his friends. (BoF)
The turning point for the Gvasalia brothers and the brand was the year 2015, when Demna stepped down from VETEMENTS, to take over the creative director position at Balenciaga. As Demna joined Balenciaga, the brand achieved a masterful, sending the label’s business figures sky-high in about two years (Vogue,2018).
“I didn’t want to just design for the sake of it, I wanted to establish a dialogue and use fashion as a communicative tool. ” - Demna Gvasalia.
One thing that’s evident about Demna Gvasalia’s aesthetic is that it’s not about being “well-dressed.”: he’s having fun, experimenting with fabrics and silhouettes, while creating clothes that are interesting. Gvasalia is not preoccupied with fitting into a particular mold of what people have expected from Vetements clothing.
Demna Gvasalia’s personal brand is like a diamond: composed of multiple facets. He has mentioned in many interviews that he does not want to be different: he fully embraces all the influences that made him who he is, from the gothic style to the hip–hops and rave influences (Trochu, 2018). He merges all of that into two crystalline pieces: his brand and his art.
He’s not afraid of trying different things to incubate. You could see him passing from attending the Met Gala with Kim Kardashian and the next hour he could be presenting his clothes in gay clubs or hiring escorts to model (i-D staff, 2015).
You can expect the unexpected from him but Demna is also loyal. That's why he stayed for many years as creative director: he likes to acknowledge all the work he puts into all his creations, not throwing away a single thing.
It’s difficult to describe his personal brand, but if we could do it in a few words, it probably would be: “an absurd and loyally multifaceted executor” (as he likes to define himself).
Talking about his persona in the world of art, Demna said in an interview: “I feel like my challenge and responsibility as a designer today is to question what beauty is.” - Demna to Leon Talley.
Since the start of his journey as a creative director for Balenciaga, he has worked on redefining both the house archives and Balenciaga’s originals: disrupting the classics and creating his own aesthetic. After the arrival of Demna in 2015, Balenciaga has become a partner and a fount of interest and inspiration to many artists and art galleries. For example, through the collaboration with the architect/designer Harry Nuriev, in order to create a unique sofa which was then exhibited at the Miami Design Fair. Moreover, for the 2017’s Fall collection, rubber floor mats became pencil skirts, seat-belt buckles became dangly earrings, and side mirrors became minaudières (Tashjian, 2019). Balenciaga aimed to use standard objects in a different way, giving new life to basic shapes.
Concerning the personal challenges, Gvasalia points out that during his childhood, his relationship with fashion was not like that of a normal western boy’s: he didn’t have magazines and the only brand he knew was Valentino. He also used to wear the same clothes for many years, while dreaming of creating his own stuff.
Talking about the present, Gvasalia told Financial Times - “the hardest thing to achieve in a modern, evolving brand is finding the right balance between the business and the dignity of the brand”. With all these triple-soled sneakers and logos it can seem that Gvasalia has already trespassed on the dignity of the brand but that's how he sees it. Despite the critics, he feels that “printing things on clothes” is an important step for fashion’s evolution. Another thing he is trying to do is combining T-shirts and sneakers with ballroom dresses (which he believes to be difficult but “honest”).
We'll see what the future holds. But one thing is certain: a personality like Demna's can only amaze us ever more!
SOURCES:
A. L. (2021, October 19). Demna Gvasalia interviewed by andré Leon Talley and starring Iman. Interview Magazine. Retrieved November 20, 2021. Retrieved from: https://www.interviewmagazine.com/fashion/demna-gvasalia-interviewed-by-andre-leon-talley-and-starring-iman.
Ellison, J. (2019, September 19). Demna Gvasalia: the activist at Balenciaga. Financial Times. Retrieved from: https://www.ft.com/content/deb77b0a-a516-4683-a92c-9397ea6ea1c5
Fabiana Repaci, M. S., Repaci, F., & Socha, M. (2019, September 16). Exclusive: DEMNA GVASALIA EXITS VETEMENTS. WWD. Retrieved November 20, 2021. Retrieved from: https://wwd.com/fashion-news/designer-luxury/demna-gvasalia-exits-vetements-exclusive-1203283590/
Demna Gvasalia is part of the BOF 500. The Business of Fashion. (2019, September 17). Retrieved November 21, 2021, from: https://www.businessoffashion.com/community/people/demna-gvasalia
Hans Ulrich Obrist: “Demna Gvasalia has become part of the Zurich miracle.” (2019, September 5). GDI Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute. Retrieved from: https://www.gdi.ch/en/publications/trend-updates/hans-ulrich-obrist-demna-gvasalia-has-become-part-zurich-miracle
Paton, E. (2016, March 6). Who Is Demna Gvasalia, Balenciaga’s New Designer? The New York Times. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/08/fashion/demna-gvasalia-balenciaga-new-artistic-director.html
Trochu, E. T. B. N. R. (2018, March 4). Everything you want to know about Demna Gvasalia, Balenciaga and Vetements. Vogue Paris. Retrieved from: https://www.vogue.fr/fashion/fashion-inspiration/story/en-everything-you-want-to-know-about-demna-gvasalia-balenciaga-vetements-vogue-paris-fashion-festival/465
Tashjian, R. (2019, December 5). How balenciaga became the art world's Favorite Brand. GQ. Retrieved November 20, 2021. Retrieved from: https://www.gq.com/story/balenciaga-art-world
i-D staff. (2015). 13 things we learned about demna gvasalia. Retrieved from: https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/papvg9/13-things-we-learned-about-demna-gvasalia
Trochu, E. (2018). Vogue.Retrieved from Everything you want to know about Demna Gvasalia, Balenciaga and Vetements. Retrieved from: https://www.vogue.fr/fashion/fashion-inspiration/story/en-everything-you-want-to-know-about-demna-gvasalia-balenciaga-vetements-vogue-paris-fashion-festival/465
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