VETEMENTS Critcizes Ye and Balenciaga Over Sock Sneakers
Guram Gvasalia and VETEMENTS claim they were the first to ever do it.
VETEMENTS and Guram Gvasalia are calling out Ye and Balenciaga in what appears to be a burgeoning feud on originality. Guram is one-half of the Gvasalia brothers, where Demna has left VETEMENTS to be the creative head at Balenciaga, one of the brands in question for Guram’s criticism.
Following the reveal Ye’s YZY PODS sock shoe and Balenciaga’s True Sock Sneaker last week, Guram has taken to Instagram to claim that he has the original idea of the sock shoe. In a join Instagram post, Guram and VETEMENTS posted product image of VETEMENTS’ version. The caption read, “The original flat sock sneaker since 2019 engineered by VETEMENTS. Accept no imitations #NothingBeatsTheOriginal.” While Guram and VETEMENTS did not explicitly call out Ye and his brother Demna‘s brand, the critique comes at an opportune time, almost immediately after the two brands have released their versions of the sock shoe.
When it comes to the Gvasalia brothers, there appears to be an ongoing competition between the two, although it is uncertain if it is a friendly back and forth or a full blown feud. The brothers started VETEMENTS together in 2014 but Demna was appointed Balenciaga’s head creative in 2015, making his official exit from the brand in 2019. Guram took over and became VETEMENTS’ creative director in 2021. In an interview with The New York Times Guram has said he wanted to be the “biggest thing” in fashion. He told Vanessa Friedman, “I think my brother is very talented, but I have a completely different approach to thing. He had his good run of 10 years, and I think his era is slowly going to its finish line. Now it is my time.” He compares his accomplishments to his older sibling, “He got certain opportunities in life earlier. But if you consider where I am today, where my brother was when he was my age, I think I’m far more advanced.” He also alluded to the fact that Balenciaga always finds a way to steal the limelight, dropping bing announcements on the same day as VETEMENTS, “Balenciaga always releases news on the day of our show, so I feel it’s only fair. They announced Demna’s appointment on my birthday.” Comparing VETEMENTS to Balenciaga, Guram also said, “They have a completely different construction. And honestly, I think all the brands in the world have done these kinds of dresses. I also think if you look at them next to each other, ours are much better.”
It remains to be seen if Demna, Balenciaga or Ye will respond to the criticisms from Guram.
