Demna Gvasalia, the fashion dictator? 

Demna was born in Georgia in 1981. When he was a child, he tried to stand out from his classmates by personalizing his school uniforms. After leaving his country at war, the Georgian enrolled to The Academy of Fine Arts in Anvers, Belgium. Soon after, he won the prize of ‘The Collection of The Year’ in the ITS fashion contest in 2004. Before finishing his studies, he worked for one of his teachers Walter Van Beirendonck, which meant that once graduating in 2007 he had the chance to present a collection at Tokyo Fashion Week. This creative genius was quickly spotted by the big names in Fashion!

So in 2009, he became The Director of The Women’s Collection for Maison Margiela. This experience was pivotal in his career as he learned the process of garment construction and deconstruction but also the process of fabrication. Four years later, Demna becomes The Women’s Collection Director for Louis Vuitton. But he wasn’t at home in such a big house where the commercial aspect is more importance than the artistic. So, in 2015 he decided to create his own brand called «Vetements ». His objectives were to revolutionise fashion and to have a new approach where the clothes are central to the project.

In the same year, Demna left Louis Vuitton and was appointed the Artistic Director at Balenciaga. He worked with a sociologist to apprehend how his pieces would be received and the social relationships they’d create. His inspiration comes from unexplored fields like ‘the internet’ etc.. We also see a strong influence from streetwear and sportswear in his creations, as fashion is for him the reflection of our society and what we see in the street. He proves this with two sneakers which went on to become icons: The Speed Trainers and the Triple S. 

Finally, we can say that Demna Gvasalia is one of the most iconic designers of the last five years. More artist than designer, he symbolizes the new vision that young generations are looking for in fashion. Indeed, in 2018, the two houses managed by Demna – Balenciaga and Vêtements – are respectively first and third in the hottest brand ranking which proves that Demna Gvasalia has created a real hype that surfs the digital wave.