Unlike most runway looks, the strapless minidress made of DHL tape that Gigi Hadid modeled in Vetements’ runway could be knocked off at home.
But Vetements wasn’t taking any liberties with DHL’s intellectual property, since the two brands began collaborating in 2015. Hadid‘s DHL dress for Vetements‘ anniversary show was not a surprise for the Bonn, Germany-based international shipping and package delivery specialist, according to Arjan Sissing, head of group brand marketing at DHL Group.
“We found it incredibly exciting, and well-aligned with our own brand’s 55-year anniversary that we celebrated last week. And then we provided the necessary red and yellow DHL packing tape so Vetements could create this striking dress,” Sissing said.
The Vetements alliance traces back to the fall of 2015, when the European label unveiled a DHL T-shirt for its spring 2016 collection, during Paris Fashion Week. That, too, was preapproved and had been inspired by the daily interaction that the-then “fashion upstarters” Demna and Guram Gvasalia had with DHL as their logistics supplier, Sissing said.
Demna Gvasalia moved on in 2019. But DHL and Vetements “enjoy working together to periodically create unique styles, when the timing and theme align for both parties,” Sissing said.
The traction on social media for Hadid’s DHL dress has been welcome, too. As of Wednesday, a runway clip of Hadid posted on Instagram had more than 350,000 likes. “The internet has gone wild since then. We have seen many excited posts from users all around the world on social media celebrating Gigi Hadid wearing the DHL tape dress, which we absolutely love and appreciate,” Sissing said.
Some media outlets compared the DHL frocks to the taped-up bodysuit that Kim Kardashian wore for Balenciaga’s fall 2022 runway show. Demna is the creative lead at that Kering-owned luxury house. The Skims founder had been wrapped in yellow crime scene-inspired tape imprinted with “BALENCIAGA.”
Having designed uniforms for major companies like JetBlue, FedEx, McDonald’s and Sandals Resorts, Stan Herman grasps the power of branding. He has also seen it fall short. Reached Wednesday, Herman said TWA introduced paper uniforms for flight attendants in 1968. “They thought it would be very functional. They wore them for special [international] flights. They got lots of publicity for it,” he said.
At a time when commercial aircrafts had sections for cigarette smoking, TWA’s paper uniforms proved to be potentially hazardous. “They didn’t catch on, but they did catch fire,” Herman said with a laugh. “TWA suddenly realized how silly they were.”
But back to DHL and Vetements. They generally do not disclose details about specific agreements, Sissing said.
Ever since the DHL shirt debuted on the Vetements runway in 2015, DHL has observed how people enjoy incorporating the DHL logo into their fashion statements, Sissing said that “goes far beyond our DHL colleagues, who love our brand and are proud of working for DHL.”
The Vetements connection has led to DHL regularly receiving collaboration requests from designers around the world. The way Sissing sees it, “DHL has become an essential part of consumers’ everyday life both as a piece of their wardrobe as well as the trusted partner delivering their e-commerce shopping.”
