Jay-Z name-checked Belgian designer Martin Margiela in his “Run This Town” single (“Uh, and ain’t nobody fresher/I’m in Maison, uh, Martin Margiela”), but fashion lovers have been familiar with the notoriously reclusive clothier for years now. Shrouded in enigma, Margiela is often cited as the antithesis of the media darling designer — he never poses for photos or even reveals his face, his clothing lacks the traditional logo-emblazoned labels, and he ducks the press like an agoraphobe would the open road. Even his website is imbued with an air of irony and mystery — as you enter, you’re struck with a warning icon resembling that which you’d find on a site under construction but, here, the tongue-in-cheek sign reads “This site is not under construction.” Considered a rebel by traditional fashion standards and a master of deconstruction, Margiela’s work has become synonymous with the avant-garde and the eccentric.
But, of course, his ready-to-wear collections are never quite as deliciously experimental as his Maison Martin Margiela Artisanal collection, which features one-of-a-kind, handmade pieces crafted using unique and often upcycled materials. A selection of men’s and women’s garments, footwear and accessories from Margiela’s Artisanal collection is available for the first time on Yoox.com.
The pieces from the Maison Martin Margiela Artisanal collection available for sale range from sublimely quirky to intriguingly creepy. You’ll find, for example, a jacket made of interwoven rubber bands of various widths (pictured at top), which took an estimated 29 hours to produce. The piece has a straight-jacket-meets-origami feel, with a dash of Edwards Scissorhands and mummy somberness thrown in. Perhaps a more accessible piece, albeit audacious and daring, is the disco top pictured second from top, which features small square mirror tiles glued onto an open-back top lined in black leather. With its dramatic, rounded shoulder, the top boasts Studio 54 dazzle, but is constructed in such a fashion as to convey the feel of gladiator-esque armor.
Moving back to the over-the-top, you’ll find a jacket made of tinsel garlands (like the kind used to decorate Christmas trees). In order to give the jacket (pictured third from top) a sophisticated silhouette, each garland strip was approached as if it were a piece of fur, sewn at regular intervals and bolstered by shoulder pads to add volume at the top. Looking at this jacket, which took 21 hours to produce, I can’t help but remember the various challenges Project Runway contestants had to complete,especially those in which they were asked to use unorthodox materials (like goodies found at the Hershey’s store or car parts) — and, really, who would ever have thought to create such a fab piece out of something as frequently discarded as garlands? Now, I’m not saying I would snatch this up at a store, but you have to admit that it’s quite a conversation piece.
Maison Martin Margiela Blazer in Size 2, $10,745; Maison Martin Margiela Garland Jacket in Size 4, $9,885; and Maison Martin Margiela Disco Ball Top in Size 4, $10,995. Available exclusively at Yoox.com
