Vetements relocates to Zurich

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Mar 23, 2017

After having made oversized streetwear the coolest style of the moment, will Demna Gvasalia now be able to transform Zurich into a fashion capital?

“My goal is to put Zurich on the world map as a fashion city and my dream is that one day the city will be associated with fashion,” said the designer’s brother and business partner, Guram Gvasalia, in a recent interview with Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung. Guram Gvasalia also used the opportunity to announce that the famous ready-to-wear label Vetements would be relocating to Zurich.

“Besides Switzerland’s favorable tax system, the move also allows the brand to start a new chapter, a clean slate for a fresh start,” a spokesperson for the label told FashionNetwork.
 
In his interview with the SonntagsZeitung, Gvasalia Guram, who runs Vetements’ business operations, explains that the company “could not grow in Paris,” especially because of its high taxes and the bureaucracy. “It took at least nine months to bring a new employee into the country.” But the move is also because Paris’ “environment with the ‘bling bling’ is destructive,” he said. “Paris kills creativity. ... I like the virgin territory aspect of Switzerland.” Not to mention the country’s geographical central location, an important aspect for anyone who has to continually travel throughout Europe and the world.

The company Vetements Group AG was created last June, while all the studios, the workshop for prototypes and trademark office (marketing, management, etc.) as well as its archives and a photo studio have relocated to Binz, a southern district of Zurich. They have set up shop in a four-storey building, the former headquarters the now defunct Bernie's fashion company. It is not yet known how many employees are working on site because the staff is still currently being relocated.
 
The Vetements collections will continue to show in Paris, including in the label’s Ritual Projects showroom, which will also manage communications. Vetements’ largest market is North America, followed by South Korea.
 
As for Demna Gvasalia, who is also the artistic director of Balenciaga, he will now be splitting his time between Paris and Zurich.