Demna was born in Sukhumi, Georgia (the former Soviet Union), on March 25, 1981, to
a Georgian father and a Russian mother. His family fled the civil war there in 1993 to
Tbilisi. In 2001, he graduated from Tbilisi State University with a degree in International
Economics and that same year, immigrated to Düsseldorf, Germany, with his parents.

After nurturing a fervent interest in dressmaking for years, he finally pursued his
lifelong dream by enrolling in the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, where he won
the ITS Collection of the Year award in 2004, and graduated in 2006 with a Master’s
Degree in Fashion Design.

In 2014, after working at various Parisian fashion houses, Demna launched his own
label, VETEMENTS, driven by a desire to refocus fashion on its essence: the clothes.
He presented his first runway collection in Paris later that year immediately earning
critical acclaim for its high concept collections, and in October 2015, was appointed
Artistic Director of Balenciaga where he brought his garment-focused philosophy to
the House while revitalizing the legacy of Cristóbal Balenciaga.

His debut for the House, presented in March 2016, introduced a bold new direction
centered on realism, transforming utilitarian garments into a modern wardrobe
imbued with the attitudes of M. Balenciaga’s couture. His vision for the House
extended to menswear with Balenciaga’s first menswear show in June 2016, followed
by his unification of the menswear and womenswear presentations in 2018.

In 2021, Balenciaga launched its first Couture collection since 1968, when the
House’s founder, Cristóbal Balenciaga, closed his ateliers. Demna’s debut haute
couture collection, widely regarded as a tour-de-force, was presented in the
reopened Balenciaga Couture salons at 10 Avenue George V—symbolizing the
House’s return to the address where M. Balenciaga originally established it in Paris.
This revival heralded a new mode of creative freedom, with the mission of making
couture relevant for a new era.

Since 2017, Demna’s innovative approach has earned him International Ready-to-Wear
Designer of the Year and Accessories Designer of the Year at the Fashion Awards,
International Designer of the Year and International Women’s Designer of the Year at
the CFDA Fashion Awards, a Leader of Change in Creativity by the British Fashion
Council, and one of Time 100’s Most Influential People in the World.