Martin Margiela
CASE STUDY
Created by Redress
Martin Margiela
“Margiela proved that you could make things out of nothing, and that’s a very comforting idea for the world.”
- Olivier Saillard, Fashion Historian
Martin Margiela is a Belgian fashion designer who graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp in 1979.
He worked for Jean Paul Gaultier and Hermès before he founded his fashion house, Maison Martin Margiela, in 1988 (now known as Maison Margiela). He left the label in 2009 and John Galliano is the current Creative Director.
In this case study, reconstruction is used to provoke and disrupt how people see high fashion.
Image credit: Maison Margiela
Image credit: Maison Margiela
Image credit: Maison Margiela
Martin Margiela’s design approach is often considered controversial. Belgian fashion entrepreneur Geert Bruloot said, “Fashion then [in the ’80s] was bold colours, wide shoulders; everything was extravagant. Martin came along with ripped sleeves, frayed hems, clumpy shoes — we were still talking about stilettos!” [1]
His love of extravagant proportions, visible garment construction detailing and raw finishes showed through consistently in his fashion career.
Equally, his approach to the presentation of his work, such as his shows, often challenged the norms that editors and buyers of the time were used to. He often presented his collections with models’ faces covered in order that his clothes spoke for themselves. Despite being flamboyant in his work, he himself is low-key, and is sometimes described as ‘fashion’s invisible designer’. He has never appeared in his shows, is rarely photographed, nor does he give interviews.
His trademark of deconstructing vintage clothing and accessories for use in his designs first placed reconstruction in the professional and commercial fashion scene.
Margiela is also renowned for reconstructing unconventional materials, from car seatbelts, to vintage leather gloves and old shoes into his work. For example, for his SS2007 collection, he used pairs of vintage basketball shoes to create an artisanal waistcoat. He opened up the shoes, removing the soles and laying the pieces flat on a dummy to assemble the garment. He retained the original features of the sneakers, such as the metal eyelets and shoelaces, as features of his design. When reconstructing, Margiela often does this, keeping the original details of the garments or objects visible in his work.
Margiela is also renowned for reconstructing unconventional materials, from car seatbelts, to vintage leather gloves and old shoes into his work. For example, for his SS2007 collection, he used pairs of vintage basketball shoes to create an artisanal waistcoat. He opened up the shoes, removing the soles and laying the pieces flat on a dummy to assemble the garment. He retained the original features of the sneakers, such as the metal eyelets and shoelaces, as features of his design. When reconstructing, Margiela often does this, keeping the original details of the garments or objects visible in his work.
Margiela is also renowned for reconstructing unconventional materials, from car seatbelts, to vintage leather gloves and old shoes into his work. For example, for his SS2007 collection, he used pairs of vintage basketball shoes to create an artisanal waistcoat. He opened up the shoes, removing the soles and laying the pieces flat on a dummy to assemble the garment. He retained the original features of the sneakers, such as the metal eyelets and shoelaces, as features of his design. When reconstructing, Margiela often does this, keeping the original details of the garments or objects visible in his work.
His sock sweater, originally created in 1991, was made up of several pairs of surplus vintage military socks that were turned into this perfectly tailored garment. Some considered his use of recovered materials, such as this design, as an ‘anti-fashion’ statement. The sock sweater became one of his most iconic designs and was later ‘replicated’ in a mass when the fashion house collaborated with H&M in 2012. Although this collection was not manufactured using waste textiles, the replication of this idea demonstrates the appreciation and commercial value of the aesthetic as well as the authenticity of reconstruction design.
His sock sweater, originally created in 1991, was made up of several pairs of surplus vintage military socks that were turned into this perfectly tailored garment. Some considered his use of recovered materials, such as this design, as an ‘anti-fashion’ statement. The sock sweater became one of his most iconic designs and was later ‘replicated’ in a mass when the fashion house collaborated with H&M in 2012. Although this collection was not manufactured using waste textiles, the replication of this idea demonstrates the appreciation and commercial value of the aesthetic as well as the authenticity of reconstruction design.
His sock sweater, originally created in 1991, was made up of several pairs of surplus vintage military socks that were turned into this perfectly tailored garment. Some considered his use of recovered materials, such as this design, as an ‘anti-fashion’ statement. The sock sweater became one of his most iconic designs and was later ‘replicated’ in a mass when the fashion house collaborated with H&M in 2012. Although this collection was not manufactured using waste textiles, the replication of this idea demonstrates the appreciation and commercial value of the aesthetic as well as the authenticity of reconstruction design.
A DIY version of the sock sweater was also published in A Magazine curated by Maison Martin Margiela in June 2004.
A DIY version of the sock sweater was also published in A Magazine curated by Maison Martin Margiela in June 2004.
A DIY version of the sock sweater was also published in A Magazine curated by Maison Martin Margiela in June 2004.
Additional Resources
Maison Martin Margiela (2009), Maison Martin Margiela
YOOX Group (2015), The Artist Is Absent: A Short Film On Martin Margiela