Has Fashion Reached The Tipping Point With Disruptors?

The Cambridge English dictionary describes the word disruptor as “a person or thing that prevents something, especially a system , process, or event, from continuing as usual or as expected." But last week there appeared to be evidence that our disruptors are being disrupted. A controversial piece quoting unnamed sources––buyers, store managers and other merchants––claiming the Vetements brand was “over” and stores were experiencing decreased sell-through was published on HighSnobiety.com, an established streetwear blog and media agency. The story gathered steam when the brothers Gvasalia came out swinging, railing on Instagram and in WWD against “wannabe journalism based on lies and gossip” and asserting that their brand was stronger than ever. Thou doth protest too much, said the social media peanut gallery. A parade of high profile retailers from Harrods to Saks to MyTheresa then stepped forward to verify that Vetements collections continued to perform well, that the brand mattered to customers and they foresaw no alterations to store buys.