Vetementsâ??s Coup Dâ??Ã?tat

If there is a raucous ringleader of Paris’s current fashion revolution, after four seasons, it’s Demna Gvasalia and the collective behind Vetements. And for their spring collection, which showed in Paris over the weekend on the designer floor of French retail mecca Galeries Lafayette, the brand staged two major coups.  

The first was upending the ever-shifting fashion calendar. As the unofficial start to couture week, Vetements staged their RTW show four months early, setting an anarchic tone in advance of the rest of the maisons presenting this week. The second coup? Taking fashion’s de rigeur obsession with collaborations into uncharted territory.

Vetements showed 56 looks, menswear and womenswear, tapping into the “best of” that the retail world has to offer. Eighteen brands from around the globe, high to low (Brioni for tailored shirts; Champion for sweatshirts; Levi’s for denim; Manolo Blahnik for footwear) produced the collection to Vetements’ design specifications. Brioni’s tailoring went oversized and asymmetrical, as the Vetements house codes dictate; Carhartt delivered sturdy apron-like overalls and front-slit dresses; puffed-up Canada Goose parkas draped off-the-shoulder; Blahnik’s silk stiletto boots went waist-high, into superhero-fit waders; Juicy Couture’s signature baby-hued terry cloth morphed into skin-tight velour catsuits, separates, and evening gowns, the “Juicy” logo spelled out in rhinestones.