MARTIN MARGIELA, THE YOUNG HOPE OF BELGIAN FASHION
Born on April 9, 1957 in Louvain (Belgium), Martin Margiela perfected his stylistic education at the prestigious Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, which he joined in 1974.
His classmates are Dirk Bikkembergs, Dries Van Noten , Dirk Van Saene, Walter van Beirendonck, Marina Yee and Ann Deumelemeester.
Known as the "Six of Antwerp", this group formed by former students of the promotion 81, will be representative of the new wave of Belgian designers who swept the eighties.
At the end of his studies, the young designer first worked as a freelancer before landing the personal assistant position of Jean Paul Gaultier in 1984. This privileged position with the great designer will feed him a deep ambition, that of to found one's own house
MARTIN MARGIELA, THE CULT OF DISCRETION
Thanks to the businesswoman Jenny Meirens, this dream came to fruition in 1988 with the creation of a new label called Maison Martin Margiela.
From now on to the creative levers of his own company, the couturier is forging a discordant character which singles him out in the microcosm of fashion.
A secret personality, he cultivates a certain discretion that he pushes to its climax. He never lets himself be photographed, exempts himself from any public appearance, even going so far as to derogate from the tradition of the end of parade salute.
He never expresses himself in his name, only indulging in that of his collective, and his rare interviews are only done by fax.
In all causality, his fashion house does not carry any advertising and the labels of his clothes remain white to claim no mark.
MARTIN MARGIELA, A HOME THAT COMPLIES WITH ITS PRINCIPLES
This propensity to escape the rules accepted by the fashion constitution quickly seduces the editors of the specialized press, which no longer miss any of its parades.
Instituted in real events of the fashion calendar, the latter are always organized in unusual places like a metro station, a disused warehouse or a wasteland in the heart of the twentieth arrondissement.
His models, recruited most of the time in the street, parade too under cover of anonymity: masked or hidden under black glasses, they fade to better focus attention on the garment.
Again, Martin Margiela is distinguished by an avant-garde design of the garment. As a style engineer, he specializes in destructuring (exposed seams, ostensive lining) and is a specialist in white with quasi-clinical purity.
Thus, his stylistic experiments often exceed the limits of the "portable": purse patchwork jacket, dress cut in a fishing net recovered, tuxedo cut in paper ...
A permanent quest for creativity that induces the Belgian designer to instigate a new stylistic approach. His style insurrections will of course be the subject of many exhibitions around the world, with a major exhibition soon Palais Galliera in March 2018.
Credit: imaxtree / Daniele Oberrauch
MARTIN MARGIELA, THE HERMÈS YEARS
From 1997 to 2003, Martin Margiela reigns as a creative master on Hermès' ready-to-wear lines.
If this union between the preconceived elegance of a heritage house and the stylistic jitters of a designer who wants to be anonymous, seems incompatible, it will however sparkles.
The King of Deconstruction updates his iconic horse-drawn logo and stamps the buttons of an H. He also restricts the diaprée palette so characteristic of the brand, by betting on neutral tones (chalk, taupe, slate etc.) that he scatters on transmutable creations.
The long coats are reversible and can be detached from the sleeves or the collar, the swimsuits are made of three pieces using adjustable bands and the handles of bags cumulate the functions to better be fulfilled in bracelet.
Thus, Martin Margiela provokes useful stylistic reflections, designing clothes, whose practical intelligence, but also comfortable, allows women to wear them in different ways.
After 7 years of collaboration, the designer wants to refocus on his label. It is his former boss, Jean Paul Gaultier , who succeeds him.
MARTIN MARGIELA, THE END OF AN ERA
The early retirement of the mysterious creator, in December 2009, takes everyone by surprise. Therefore, a squad of creators, whose identity is kept secret, is responsible for extending its stylistic journey.
In 2013, the fashion rock star, John Galliano , makes a most unexpected comeback by taking up the stylistic reins of the famous house.
Even today, he respects the precepts of the master Margiela by claiming a certain independence of style vis-a-vis the traditional system of fashion.
