Balenciaga Names Vetements’s Demna Gvasalia as Artistic Director

The straightforward, no-frills aesthetic of the brand piqued the interest of the industry, but the designers behind Vetements were unknown and referred to as a collective for the longest time. Saint Laurent and Gucci have recently been shaken up by young designers who have ripped up the rule book and created a whole new look for their house. Demna Gvasalia will take creative responsibility for the brand’s collections and the image of the maison.

For the uninitiated, Vetements is a cult label that launched during FW14 and secured a spot at Paris Fashion Week SS15 just one season in.

Gvasalia replaces Wang, who presented his final collection for Balenciaga October 2.

Isabelle Guichot, president and CEO of Balenciaga, said: “I am very pleased to welcome Demna Gvasalia as the artistic director of Balenciaga’s collections”. “I was really amazed by his (Demna) ability to develop an approach to the brand that was really new and that was really his own… what should be the attitude, what should be the silhouette, what should be the volumes”. Demna Gvasalia embodies a unique approach to the profession, marked by a sociological observation of the wardrobe’s essentials and the way he remains humble and rigorous in his creative work. He has also previously worked at Maison Margiela and as senior designer of women’s ready-to-wear at Louis Vuitton.

Alexander Wang was at the helm of Balenciaga for three years, suceeding Nicholas Ghesquière who was at the label for 15 years before heading to Louis Vuitton. “I am looking forward to further [expanding] the DNA of the house and, together with the team, to write a new chapter in its history”. Perhaps a surprising aim, considering the perceived struggle that Wang had balancing the label alongside his own.

Even before today’s news, people couldn’t stop talking about Vetements, the hands-down coolest thing going in Paris fashion right now.