Demna Gvasalia's DHL T-shirts Sell Out in Seconds

Vetements, a Zurich-based fashion house, showed off a T-shirt inspired by DHL, a courier firm, in 2015, which was “sold out in instant.” The label’s founder, a native of Georgia named Demna Gvasalia, is also the creative director of Spain’s Balenciaga.

The Economist reports that for a mere $200-a-shirt, “the young and ironically chic can look almost but not exactly like the chap who brings boxes to their parents’ doors.“

According to the Economist, this is called “anti-fashion”- tweaking mundane items and sending them down the catwalk with eye-watering price tags. 

The edition says Demna Gvasalia fled the Georgian civil war as a child and studied design in Antwerp, adding that now his homeland is latching onto his success. 

“Georgia once made drab clothes for the victims of communism; its garment industry collapsed with the Soviet Union. Now it serves fashion victims everywhere,” the article reads.

The Economist underlines that Georgian designers sell their wares in London, Paris and New York. Clients include Rihanna and Lady Gaga. It notes that Tbilisi hosts not one but two fashion weeks.

“The beauty buzz puts Georgia on the map, where tourists and investors can find it. Last year, 7.5m people visited—twice Georgia’s population, and up almost sixfold since 2008,” says the Economist, adding that financial aid from the European Union has helped local businesses update their equipment and meet the quality standards needed to sell kit in Europe.

By Thea Morrison

Photo source: The Economist