My friend, an unaffiliated-to-fashion but in-the-know fan of clothing, overheard me talking about Vetements with a fashion editor last weekend, so she asked, “What’s Vetements?” I explained that it was a recent fashion phenomenon, a new design collective that has stopped the industry short, become its new darling and turned on its head all the basic principles that fashion has set for itself as a commander of taste. It functions as a deeply reactive entity that rejects the ateliers of Paris with their fanciful ideas of what women should look like and responds instead to what a new generation of women already do look like. (Also, they sell DHL t-shirts for $330; you can request one from the de facto delivery service for $14.99.) It’s fantasy versus reality — kind of like comparing the show Sex and the City to Girls wherein Vetements is Girls: rooted in what’s real and true, whether good or bad, and not interested in the Galliano-esque suspension of disbelief and reverie of fiction.

This isn’t actually problematic until you consider the implications of the house’s designer, Demna Gvasalia, accepting a position as the creative director of at one of the aforementioned ateliers, Balenciaga. Reviewers for some venerated publications — Vogue, The Times, Washington Post — have declared Vetements the house to breathe new life into fashion. It’s the industry’s pièce de résistance. But it’s not just a press toy. Luxury vendors who stock the collection — Net-A-Porter, Browns Fashion, Matches and so forth — indicate that it sells very, very well. Go ahead right now; try to order a pair of shoes. But here’s the thing: I don’t get the fanfare. You want to lose your shit over clothes that make you feel like 18th century royalty while you’re washing the dishes in real life, I totally get that. But to wear clothes that make you feel like you’re about to wash dishes? Where’s the grand illusion there? The clothes are not very practical, either, which is perhaps the cerebrally-perverse point of a collection that is responding to real life instead of creating its own world, but given how expensive they are (reconstructed Levi’s jeans range from $1,040 to $1,500), who are the people who are buying in? 

Am I missing something? I do understand what the house is trying to do, and don’t doubt the talent — Gvasalia spent time at Margiela in the earlier aughts and those were glory days. Today, the deconstructed, reconstructed metaphor for an industry that is fledgling but trying to hold it together does not get lost on me. The reactive nature of the house and subsequent embracement by industry heavyweights is a sharp, promising turn in the direction of a more democratic fashion industry. pepperoni hoodiesHere, here to all that.nautique hoodie But when you think of what we’re called by the naysayers — a manipulative beast that makes you feel less-than so that you’ll buy and become more-than — does Vetements support or counter that clause?geology hoodie

Among shoppers, there have always been those who buy clothes (think Brunello Cucinelli, Loro Piana, the good quality stuff that hugs you) and those who buy energy (Saint Laurent is commodified “cool,” ditto that for Alexander Wang; Phoebe Philo sells you simplicity, a lack of complication but a healthy serving of complexity). Those who make energy command insider respect, which trickles down to consumer curiosity and ultimately, consumption. hoodie dinosaur vineThis is the process that renders a price tag irrelevant, which is what makes a $750 Vetements sweatshirt, or $330 t-shirt “worth” the splurge. 5sos merchandise for saleThose things aren’t just expensive activewear — they’re an excuse. soph hoodieA found form of validation. where can i get a xanax hoodie

You want to wear a sweatshirt to fashion week because it’s cold? Only you never actually couldn’t. This lack of confidence in our ability to think for ourselves seems like the larger problem, a sort of precursor to validation. What does it say if we need a hefty price tag to justify the acquisition of a garment? Does it mean that we still need someone to tell us what we should look like? Or simply speaking, are we back at the top where I just don’t get it? No one said you have to understand fashion to like it. I suppose that’s true of the reverse, too.Kanye West's first collection for Adidas went on sale today, and despite sky-high prices and mixed reviews of the sweatshirts and sweatpants featured, several items have already sold out in less than 24 hours.The exclusive Yeezy Season 1 collection is only available in select locations and from just a handful of e-trailers, but fans are already snapping up some key pieces for their wardrobes.But while several items, including every color version of the brand's $625 duck boots, are completely gone, more than few disappointed fans of Kanye, 38, have been left to complain on social media about the inaccessible price point.

Fast fashion: Kanye West's first collection for Adidas, Yeezy 1, went on sale today and some items have already sold outThough the collection clearly has customers willing to spend big bucks, some of Kanye's fans are expressing disappointment that it's so expensiveBarneys sold these boots in four colors, but they are all sold out A fortune for what? Several critics are saying that not only are Kanye's clothes expensive, but they don't even seem worth the money Basics: The collection's plain black cotton hoodie (left) and camo tee (right) have sold out at Mr. PorterThe Adidas website touts the Autumn/Winter 2015 collection as one that 'cherishes universality and timelessness' - but that universality doesn't seem to apply to people who'd have to spend a large chunk of their salary to afford a single piece.One fan tweeted an aggravated rhyme at Kanye: 'All I wanted was your shoes man, but I can't, that's my whole check man, and it cost more than my rent man.'Besides the now sold-out $625 duck boots, the collection also includes a $3,250 faux-fur-trimmed hooded bomber jacket, $570 sweatpants, a $1,690 wool sweater, and $415 'raw edge' shorts - which seem to be sweatpants that were roughly cut off above the knee.

These $575 sweatpants feature and elastic waistband and tapered ankles Just don't eat: Some of Kanye's fans tweeted that they'd love to buy his accessories, but the price would swallow up their whole paycheck For hot hobos: Others noted that even though the clothes were made for rich people who don't care to look rich, they still seem outrageously priced Get ready for fall: This 'French terry vest' - which appears similar to a hoodie with the arms and hood cut off - costs $545 The prices seem particularly outrageous to those who don't see the appeal of the collection, who have pointed out since its February New York Fashion Week debut that most of the baggy, unadorned sweatpants and tops look sloppy and run-of-the-mill.'Kanye West clothes cost too much for nothing [sic],' lamented one Twitter user, while another said: 'I get it @kanyewest... You make clothes for people who have money but don't care about having money but the s*** cost too much money.'In spite of the flood of online complaints, though, there are at least some people willing to shell out major cash on the line.

Willing to wait for it: Fans lined up outside Barneys in New York City this morning to buy pieces like this $1,690 wool sweater Interesting point: One fan accused Kanye of being a hypocrite, comparing the price of his clothes to his complaint about children's phone apps that allow in-app purchases Sticker shock: Online, the clothes are carried by Barneys, SSENSE, Mr. Porter, and Forward by Elyse Walker - e-retailers that are way too high-end for some fans Passing the buck: Kanye admitted that he didn't actually want the clothes to be so pricey and blamed the cost on AdidasThough there are no figures available for sales at the few brick-and-mortar locations carrying the Yeezy duds, online retailers including Barneys, SSENSE, Mr. Porter, and Forward by Elyse Walker have already sold out of several sizes. Mr. Porter is fresh out of the rapper's $325 camouflage shirt and $625 plain black hoodie, and Barneys has run out of his boots - though it is unknown how much stock each site originally carried.

But while the price hasn't been a deterrent for some, Kanye admitted that he hadn't actually wanted the designs to be so expensive. 'I don't want them to be limited, actually,' he told told Power 105's morning show, The Breakfast Club: 'That's something that the company did, I really want as many people to get them as possible. I didn't want the price to be $350. I don't want to play this sneaker culture game and all this so they be reselling them for high prices and stuff. I just want people to have what I make.'This morning, fans lined up outside of Barneys New York to shops the men's collection Look what I got! A few excited shoppers showed off their purchases after exiting the storeA few people who were willing to drop major cash even waited outside Barneys in New York City this morning to shop the goods in person.'You just have to queue up for these things. That's the way it is,' a 26-year-old H&M employee said.A 15-year-old named Jack, who planned to spend $2,000 on new clothes, added: 'I'm mostly after the boots.