Maison Martin Margiela: Fashion’s Evasive Man

The most recent collection of fashion designer Maison Martin Margiela is based on the draped symmetry of soft lines, staunch whites, deep blacks, and the occasional pop of color. His winter 2012 line boasts models that look otherworldly – their faces obscured in masks that entirely block out all signs of human features. And while this particular collection looks ethereal, Margiela equally understands what it is to stay grounded in the world of high fashion. Each year in recognition of World AIDS Day, the designer produces an entirely new shirt. The proceeds go to an AIDS charity. The design changes as time progresses, with the text moving to new locations along the fabric, but the message has stayed the same since Margiela began the program in 1994: “There is more action to be done to fight AIDS than to wear this t-shirt but it’s a good place to start.” Margiela’s utilization of fashion as a means to communicate both to the avant-garde consumer and activist alike is a testimony to the power of his skills. He is a continuous force in the industry and his unique eye – such as his decision to feature models with diamond encrusted masks – elevates his work to an unexpected level. This choice may have been a result of what fashion critic Nikolay Krasavin’s description of the designer’s work:“a signature part of the Margiela brand, (is) an extension of the incognito nature of the design house’s notoriously private founder.”

Despite this level of privacy (he has only been photographed a couple of times, keeps interviews to a bare minimum, and can only be reached by fax), regardless Margiela continues to make his name known in the world of fashion. He originally graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp) in Belgium in 1979. Despite leaving the school a year earlier, he is still considered an honorary member of the Antwerp Six, a group of designers recognized as the major revolutionaries in redefining what avant-garde would become. Five years after graduation, he moved to Paris to work with world-renowned fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier.

By 1989, however, Margiela would branch off on his own to start his personal, independent label. He became immediately known for his work in deconstruction, a facet of the grunge genre that saw his pieces cut in unusual places, seams completely exposed, and oversized in all proportions. His clothes are also often made of materials simply found on the street, regarded as junk by some but turned into a highly respected label by Margiela. These trademarks continue to define much of his style today. In a rare move in 1997, the designer became the womenswear director of the notably classic Hermes fashion house. In one of the few interviews he’s done, he told UK fashion magazine Grazia: “When Jean-Louis Dumas, chairman of Hermes, and I first met, he asked me anxiously if I was going to cut the Kelly [bag] in half because, at the time, the press used the words grunge and destroy to describe my work.”  He spent six years with the fashion house before being succeeded by Jean Paul Gaultier. Since then, Margiela has continued to produce excellent designs. And despite stepping down from his label in 2009, he keeps pushing boundaries within the industry. He recently launched a highly successful collaboration line with H&M that brought a fresh look to the clothing store, and continues to make strides in the fight for HIV/AIDS awareness through his style of activism. The designer therefore keeps breaking expectations set both by himself and the industry.

– Melissa Cruz