Vetements unveils its Secret Project and first collection for VTMNTS

At the end of June, Vetements, the now Zurich and erstwhile Paris-founded label, launched a teaser video called Secret Project with a link to a private Instagram account. Other than calling the project VTMNTS, no further information was revealed.

Vetements, famously founded on the premise of making everyday clothes a “thing” by brothers Guram and Demna Gvasalia in 2014, had reached a crossroads with a maturing market and stockists reportedly abandoning the brand, leaving a big question mark about the future of the label.

While Demna formally relinquished his design duties at Vetements last year to focus on Balenciaga, the brand hinted at its upcoming project in a press release: “100 looks represent our 100 percent commitment to this industry.”

At VTMNTS Guram is both founder and creative director, a sister label that should be regarded as a separate entity, even if linked by name, business and founder.

The fashion is in a similar spirit to Vetements, everyday streetwear garments for the young urbanite, but less of its avant-garde and East European aesthetic, even if a pair of brown trousers is ubiquitous throughout the looks. There is a notable absence of oversized tailoring and logo-led collaborations, and while aimed at a unisex customer, also conspicuously absent are dresses, of which there are none.

Rooted in traditional menswear

In an Instagram post on its Vetements channel the brand explained: “VTMNTS is a brand for all genders, deeply rooted in traditional menswear. The idea of a traditional logo is erased and replaced with the barcode - a signature element of VTMNTS, that will only be recognized by those who know. The aim of the brand is to redefine traditional luxury for the next generation.

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.”

The debut collection, called XXX, features new signature items such as leather jackets, athletic tracksuits, sleeveless roll-necks and chunky shoes on a Dr Martens-esque rubber sole, with graphic slogans written on the toe caps. There are no sneakers in the first 100 looks, a statement choice given they were a profitable sales category for parent Vetements. Elsewhere strands of pearls and chain necklaces adorn t-shirts with barcodes and pronoun choice graphics: HE/HIM, SHE/HER, THEY/THEM.

At VTMNTS everyone is free to dress as they wish.