There's an $800 Hoodie That's Selling Out Everywhere

What is it that makes certain products catch fire? Is it that they're hard to get? Is it their connection to famous people? Does it come down to innovative design? Well, in the case of one particular sold-out-everywhere $800 hoodie from Parisian womenswear label Vetements (which actually just means "clothes" in French), it's the perfect mix of all of the above. In fact, this hoodie has been so popular amongst in-the-know fashion folk and celebs that as of right now, finding one is almost impossible.

We were compelled to introduce you to one version of the sold-out style because of its collegiate logo flip and unique, 180-degree reversible design (see: innovation). But the hype of Vetements' hoodies really goes back to early 2015, when Kanye West and Rihanna were each seen sporting the brands oversized, gothic logo hoodie style out in the street. (West even wore his to the label's Fall-Winter 2015 runway show in Paris.)

Since then, the brand's breakthrough into the fashion world has gone into hyperdrive, gaining fans from fickle editors and top critics like Cathy Horyn, who have praised creative director Demna Gvasalia's irreverent but digestible take on fashion. Additionally, Gvasalia, a Maison Margiela alum, was recently appointed to fill Alexander Wang's vacancy at Balenciaga. To top things off, Gosha Rubchinkskiy, designer of the one of the most buzzed-about menswear labels around right now, walked in the brand's Spring-Summer 2016 show.

However, right now, Vetements technically only makes women's clothes. But due to the oversized cuts that are made to drape off a woman's body, the hoodies are a no-brainer crossover piece for men to wear, too. (They even hang with menswear at shops like Barneys.) So, as these things go, once fashion insiders and celebs got wind that Vetements was well on its way to being the new 'it' brand, the graphic hoodies (including one that literally says "hoodie" right on it) began taking off. New York City fashion week street style this season was littered with the them, and stores' online stock of the style, from the aforementioned Barneys to Totokaelo to Matches Fashion, began featuring those familiar, if disappointing, two words: Sold Out.

There's a few reasons the oversized logo hoodies have hit cult status. To start, the pieces dovetail almost perfectly into what today's luxury customers are looking for, namely, immediately identifiable, status-proclaiming wears. (Just look at the successes of Givenchy and Saint Laurent in selling heavily graphic 'it' items.) Add to that the fact that the lines between streetwear and high fashion (read: big name designer brands) have never been more blurred. Now, is $800 an obscene amount of money to spend on a cotton/elastane blend sweatshirt? Maybe. But the luxury marketplace is currently home to piles of $500-plus sneakers and $2,000 bomber jackets, proof that someone (or a lot of someones), somewhere has the desire—and means—to opt in to the seemingly exclusive Vetements world. After all, what's an easier way to show off one's fashion sense and wealth than a hoodie with the name of the brand printed right on the front? (And back, for that matter.)