--- is what your looking at art or fashion?
the exhibition hosts a selection of pieces
from the maison martin margiela artisanal collection,
the selections have been picked from works
expanding through the past to the present maison’s
creations. there is a definite common thread of the
margiela signature - these garments and dresses are
made of unusual materials such as porcelaine,
playing cards, gaffer tape, handgloves, heats, etc.
masterpieces of bricolage
the materials used to make the collection are a vast
range of inventive finds. garments and objects is
given a second life.
by respecting and maintaining the traces of the
passage of time and use, they remain one of the
keystones of the maison’s artistic expression.
the use of white, with all its different shades,
tones and texture, as universal colour and the
decorative signature have also always characterized
the maison martin margiela.
margiela is an excellent tailor who really knows how to
sew, and his clothes, although undeniably strange,
are beautifully (de)constructed.
each garment is reworked entirely by hand at the
maison’s atelier in paris.
martin margiela says that the creative approach is born
from a poetic conception of imperfections -
the extremes and the changes of every day life.
this conceptual design and critical importance does
not necessarily send the cash registers ringing,
gallerie owner carla sozzani owns milan’s most
interesting fashion store ‘corso como 10’. she says,
‘margiela's work has never been fashionable in the
sense of trendy. his work can be difficult and for years,
but some summer season we reordered four times’.
martin margiela
was born in louvain in belgium in 1957.
he is a graduate of the royal academy of fine arts
in antwerp.between 1985 and 1987 margiela worked
for jean paul gaultier, before showing his first collection
under his own label ‘maison martin margiela’ in 1988.
since its beginnings, maison martin margiela has
accompanied its prêt-à-porter collection with garments,
accessories and objects defined by the name ‘artisanal’.
martin margiela is closely associated with the
deconstructionist fashion movement of the 1980s.
the idea of cutting up clothes goes back to the ripped
t-shirts of the punks and the subsequent street style
of slicing jeans with razor blades.
but margiela’s deconstruction goes much further.
today there are eleven maison martin margiela
shops around the world.