A name that seems to show up in every other rap lyric these days. A phantom about whom little is known. But above all, someone whose creations caused a huge stir – a stir nobody has been able to recreate in the same way since.
Martin Margiela, who at his very first fashion show presented a shoe that had never existed before: the Tabi boot – inspired by the work shoes of Japanese gardeners, with the infamous toe split. But this man stands for much more than two split toes reminiscent of a goat’s. Hardly any name is as strongly linked to the reconstruction of old garments as Margiela. And that’s saying something, because no less than Rei Kawakubo (Comme des Garçons) had already got this style rolling before him. What sets Margiela apart from other designers most, though, is the fact that nobody really knows who is behind the name. Martin never deliberately showed himself in public – and, as he explains himself in his documentary In His Own Words, he did this on purpose: so that it wouldn’t be him as a face that people associated with his label, but only his creative expression, his fashion.
For me, everything about this person is fascinating. In a 20-year career he turned the fashion world upside down in his very own way. He didn’t stick to conventions: his shows took place in remote locations, he cast his models on the street, and every one of his collections caused excitement – and definitely outrage too. Of course, Margiela wasn’t the first to do any of these things, but the way he did them and the way he interpreted the idea of fashion was unique. His models were often made unrecognisable, with masks for example, to put the focus entirely on the clothes – a clear expression of his love for fashion. And if something wasn’t Margiela-like, it was made Margiela-like – even if that meant burning in the mark of an iron. He describes himself as a very serious man who probably overcomplicated a lot in this industry - which undoubtedly paid off in the high recognition his work and shows received in the spheres of this art form. I’m deliberately not going into individual collections or pieces here, as that would go too far, but I can recommend everyone to watch footage of his shows on YouTube.
With the dawn of the internet, Martin said goodbye to the fashion world – a huge loss. He didn’t want to withstand the onslaught of the digital world and chose a quiet exit. Since his retreat, many have drawn inspiration from his work – like the huge hype around oversized looks, which Margiela had already pushed to the extreme in the 90s. In the meantime, he has devoted himself to other forms of expression: sculpture, painting and other arts.
Anyone who thinks of Maison Martin Margiela today thinks of rock-inspired looks, Tabis, completely white showrooms and the famous number tag. I’ll go into some of these things in more detail in separate posts, because it’s important to me to do justice to the work of this special person.