Blasting Off in J Balvin's UFO-Worthy Vetements Wardrobe (EXCLUSIVE)
Hardly controversial to post that J Balvin is the best-dressed man in reggaeton. That sort of power doesn't come from good taste alone, though José Álvaro Osorio Balvín also has plenty of that.
No, J Balvin is in tight with the tastemakers who keep his wardrobe fresh. He has his pick of the designer litter, giving Balvin carte blanche to dress as he pleases, though he's obviously biased towards his friends.
One of those friends is Guram Gvasalia, creative director of Vetements, who designed Balvin's tour outfits and most of the other things that Balvin has worn as of late.
Balvin was the first celebrity to wear Vetements' gargantuan Spring/Summer 2024 garments, for instance, sitting front-row while the enormous outfits paraded the runway and shortly after repped Gvasalia's heroically huge clothes on his own time.
"We've formed such a bond that feels like family," Balvin tells Highsnobiety. "I'm so grateful for the support I've received from Guram and the team throughout my career."
When Balvin performs at the O2 in London on June 5, he'll be wearing effectively the same things that he's worn since the start of his ongoing "Que Bueno Volver a Verte" ("How Good to See You Again") tour: nothin' but bespoke Vetements.
Leather moto jackets, giant jeans, sequined trucker gear, Vetements' signature spiked Oakley sunglasses and a pair of well-worn J Balvin's own Air Jordan 3 shoes inform the Colombian all-star's on-stage wardrobe, but might as well also be a mission statement for today's Vetements.
The deign language here blended Balvin's contemporary tastes with a space-age atmosphere — Balvin has leaned hard into this sort of alien aesthetic (as in Area 52-type aliens), epitomized by Will Smith's Men in Black-inspired guest appearance at Balvin's Coachella 2024 set.
But Balvin's custom clothes also cut to the quick of Vetements' quietly provocative core ethos. That is to say, beyond Gvasalia's A-list photo opps and knowingly outré flexes lie clothes rooted in familiarity. That they're exploded beyond recognition is intentional but almost incidentally so.
Note that nothing in Balvin's tour wardrobes is quite as huge as Vetements' torso-swallowing statement pieces — no 16XL sweaters here — because, well, the logistics don't quite shake out. How could Balvin dance around the stage with sleeves scraping the ground?
Instead, Balvin and Gvasalia concocted a concise selection of no-brainer layering pieces elevated with the amped-up flash necessary for memorable tour looks but as lucidly stylish as Balvin's off-duty outfits.
Makes sense too, as Balvin points out that Vetements has deeply influenced his personal stylistic tastes.
"Working with Guram and Vetements on my tour outfits has been very exciting and felt like the perfect collaboration," Balvin continued. "The process of working closely with Guram on these custom looks has been incredible and to see our ideas come to life has been an amazing experience."
