Demna Gvasalia is a Georgian fashion designer, currently the creative director of Balenciaga and the co-founder of Vetements. Kanye needs no introduction. The two share a lot of aesthetic common ground. Both artists specialize in creating work that finds beauty in darkness.Their garments are uncannily redone versions of “normal” things like tracksuits, dad jeans, and puffer jackets rendered to the most luxurious degree. The Kanye loves Demna affair began back in 2015 when Kanye wore the infamous metal logo Vetements hoodie (now reselling for up to $6k) at Paris Fashion Week for 2 days straight. While Kanye was already with Kim at this point he opted to take Lorde with him to the Dior show immortalizing himself in that infamous photo taken ahead of the show. In 2016 Ye tweeted ‘I’m going to steal Demna from Balenciaga’ and while he didnt steal him he did appoint him to be a part of the creative team for Yeezy Season 1 joining an all-star team including the legendary, late, Virgil Abloh and Jerry Lorenzo. The duo also collaborated on a commemorative T-shirt following DMX’s death in April 2021 that raised a million dollars for the late rapper’s family. West attended Balenciaga’s debut couture presentation in Paris in July 2021. eventually Kanye brought Demna on board to oversee the aesthetic of his 2021 DONDA listening parties, from the set design to the merch.By January 2022 news broke out that the pair, thick as thieves, were joining forces on a Gap collection – Yeezy Gap engineered by Balenciaga. By July 2022 Demna confirmed the collaboration was over “This was just step No. 1,” Gvasalia explained to the New York Times. “He needed a starting point, and that was my challenge: to give him the starting point. But he is still miles and miles away from where he wants this to go.” the NYT report suggests that the father of four will be stepping into a new chapter down the road which will potentially include similar “Engineered by” partnerships with other brands.
We’re on thee edge of our seat wondering what the dynamic duo will do next.
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