Vetements' New Brand Wants to Be Hermès for Gen Z
Brand: VTMNTS (by Vetements, naturally)
Season: Spring/Summer 2022
Buy: Vetements' website, maybe VTMNTS' website, and stockists like SSENSE, presumably. Not clear, yet, but interestingly, VTMNTS is promising "never gift things away as we respect our consumers equally."
Editor's Notes: Well, who could've seen this coming — besides everyone? Vetements has finally unveiled its much-ballyhooed "Secret Project": it's called "VTMNTS" (shock!) and deals in apparel that looks fairly similar to mainline Vetements (awe!). Snark aside, even if we already knew the name back in April, it's pretty good news for anyone still into the edgy Zurich-based brand's latest hijinks.
Though it was teased on its private Instagram page for a few days, Vetements' new imprint was very much a known unknown. Only a few things were clear: CEO Guram Gvasalia and the Gvasalia Family Foundation were overseeing it and that its garments would hew close to "classic menswear" with a genderless bent.
Furthermore, we knew VTMNTS was founded based on Vetements' disdain for the general fashion industry, which VTMNTS explains further in an accompanying press release. "The industry is dominated by big conglomerates and the young generation stands no chance. ... We decided to start a little revolution and launch brands that are going to play a new game."
Notably, for a company that's found fame for large logos and statement graphics, VTMNTS' mission statement ardently rejects branding and "huge logos" in favor of "the traditional values of creativity, quality, and craftsmanship."
In fact, VTMNTS compares its aims to that of Hermès, seeking to "give the young, cool generation the same quality feeing [sic]" that the luxury house imparts to its own customers. VTMNTS seems ardent to cater specifically to fashion-forward Gen Z shoppers, asserting that the wider luxury industry is "underestimating" today's youth.
Even after the big debut, the only thing that VTMNTS has actually revealed — besides its name — is its debut SS22 collection, "XXX," which comprises a whopping 100 looks. It's crazy just how much Vetements produces for its shows (Vetements SS22 had 129 looks!) but at least VTMNTS asserts that the "100 looks represent our 100% commitment to this industry," which is a nice sentiment, I guess.
VTMNTS is serious, though: "We want to make this industry a better place!"
"VTMNTS is a brand for people who wear clothes for themselves and not for others, for those who have nothing to prove, for those who do not want to wear huge logos and scream what brand they are wearing, for those who understand the high quality and value of craftsmanship," continued VTMNTS. "The aim of the brand is to redefine traditional luxury for the next generation."
As for the actual garments, they're very much of the Vetements School of Design but you can clearly see a distinction between Vetements and VTMNTS. Compare "XXX" to Vetements' own SS22 collection, for instance: though VTMNTS is still a very playful affair, it's more grounded than Vetements' proportion-warping dresses and cabinet-shaped tailoring.
Though VTMNTS does indeed deliver many Vetements-like bits — including leather blazers, skin-tight sleeveless tees, baggy slacks, Matrix-y graphics, and very Matrix-y glasses made of solid and white gold — it's distinguished by more proportional silhouettes and more recognizable garments.
For instance, there are classic trucker-style jackets, puffer jackets, carcoats, ringer tees, and creased slacks in fairly normal (and accessible) cuts. VTMNTS spices up the affair with some youthful prints that include pronouns ("They/Them," "She/Her"), collegiate logos, and barcodes — a recurring motif that riffs on VTMNTS' own trademark filing — but the whole offering appears intentionally less advanced than Vetements, though there's only one hoodie in the collection (with a Back to the Future poster, no less).
Thus, VTMNTS doesn't really feel like Vetements-lite. It's got a bit of a diffusion line feel, sure, and there's plenty of thematic Vetements crossover (hello, "FUCK OFF" derbies) but VTMNTS eschews Vetements' exaggerated proportions for something more considered. If that comes with a more accessible price tag, VTMNTS may be just the ticket for Vetements' legion of young, social media-savvy followers.
