Demna's story: His journey to the artistic leadership of Gucci

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Demna (al centro, con il premio in mano) premiato a Trieste all'Its Contest nel 2004, dove si è aggiudicato il Collection of the Year award Credits: Courtesy of Its Contest

First the gossip in the hallways, then the rumors that spread outside the company at an ever-increasing pace, finally, the press release that launches this or that designer into the Olympus of fashion or throws out the window who, until a few months earlier, was the creative "genius" of the new millennium. But behind this media circus of fashion, there is a talent, a person who has a history and path made of talent, courage, perseverance and difficulty.

With the Its Collection of the Year award, won in 2004, designer Demna kicked off his career

The story of Demna Gvasalia, a Georgian designer who will turn 44 on March 25, is emblematic and is also incredibly linked to Italy, to Trieste and to the contest Its, International talent support, conceived and founded by Barbara Franchin. In fact, with the Its Collection of the Year award, won in 2004, the designer, then twenty years old, kicked off his career, first at Maison Margiela and Louis Vuitton, then with the launch of his brand Vetements and, in 2016, he was appointed creative director of Balenciaga. Yesterday, the news of his arrival, next July, at the artistic helm of Gucci.

To be fair, the Trieste contest have also brought good luck to another designer currently in the spotlight: Matthieu Blazy, born in 1984, the new creative director of the Chanel fashion house, who won the ITS contest in 2006.

Returning to Demna Gvasalia, during his childhood he was forced to flee with his family during the civil war of 1991-93, stopping in Tbilisi before moving on to Ukraine and Russia and settling in Düsseldorf in 2000.

After his studies, he decided to move to Belgium where he graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. In 2009, he landed at Maison Margiela and three years later at Louis Vuitton. In 2014, he launched the Vetements label and began a collaboration with the Kering group, becoming artistic director of Balenciaga in 2015.

His show in March 2022, at the beginning of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, has remained in the memory of insiders and non-insiders. In those days, Gvasalia was one of the first designers to adopt the colors yellow and blue. Demna Gvasalia, creative director of Balenciaga, transformed the Parisian show of the brand into a clear message of solidarity with Ukraine. Guests and insiders were given a T-shirt with the Ukrainian flag.

Demna: 'The war in Ukraine triggered the pain of a trauma I had been carrying inside me since 1993'

In a note, the Georgian-born designer wrote: "The war in Ukraine triggered the pain of a trauma that I have been carrying inside me since 1993, when the same thing happened in my home country and I became a refugee forever. Forever, because it is something that stays inside you. The fear, the desperation, realizing that no one wants you. But I also realized what really matters in life, the most important things, like life itself, human love and compassion. That is why working on the show this week has been so incredibly difficult for me. Because in a time like this, fashion loses its relevance and its very right to exist. Fashion week sounds like an absurdity. I thought for a moment about canceling the show that my team and I were working so hard on and looking forward to. But then I realized that canceling the show would mean giving in, giving in to the evil that has hurt me so much for almost 30 years. I have decided that I can no longer sacrifice part of myself to this senseless and heartless ego war."

“This show needs no explanation. It is dedicated to courage, resistance, the victory of love and peace. xx Demna,” concluded the designer.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

Demna Gvasalia

Gucci