VETEMENTS: a Two-faced Controversy Machine

In 2019, the luxury fashion brand VETEMENTS held a show at the McDonald’s in Paris, where it presented ‘SS20’: a collection with a strongly capitalist-critical and anti-fashion aesthetic. The event was widely reported in the media and soon grew out to be controversial among its audience, which debated online over the meaning of the show and the brand. This descriptive case study characterizes the controversial and contradictory nature of VETEMENTS as a two-faced ‘Controversy Machine’: it continuously creates controversy in an attempt to stay relevant and keep its audience engaged. An online content analysis is conducted to map out four main controversies that surface in the online response. These revolve around the doubt over a) VETEMENTS’ potential hypocrisy in both rebelling against and complying with the capitalist fashion industry, b) the audience’s role as a consumer, c) the search for deep conceptual meaning to justify VETEMENTS’ value, and d) the brand’s potential power or incapability to ‘troll’ the system. In the McDonald’s, the recurring tension of VETEMENTS’ contradictory status is visually symbolized. The study ends on a speculative note: VETEMENTS exemplifies the importance of anger and irritation as a tool for disruption in the minds of its spectators.