Maison Martin Margiela exhibition at Somerset House

29Mar10

The pioneering designer brand, Maison Martin Margiela, is set to celebrate 20 years in fashion with a major exhibition at Somerset House in London. Opening in June this year, the retrospective will aim to explore designer Martin Margiela’s artistic and conceptual approach to fashion design, through installations, video and photography.

Margiela, the elusive Belgian designer, who has never been photographed, remains, to this day, one of fashion’s most enigmatic figures. He graduated in 1980 from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, studying alongside the avant-garde fashion collective, the “Antwerp Six”, and was considered by many to be the seventh member of the collective. After various freelance roles, as well as being the design assistant to Jean Paul Gaultier, Margiela presented his first collection under his own name in 1989.

Margiela revolted against the luxury of the fashion industry with his “deconstructivist” approach. He created oversized garments made from non-traditional fabrics, and incorporated recycled materials, such as wigs, within his designs. By featuring hems and seams on the outside of his creations, he exposed the construction of his garments, and in doing so displayed a radically new visual language that opposed the power dressing of the 1980s.

The Maison Martin Margiela label was acquired by the Diesel brand in 2002, and rumours circulated that the designer had left the company. In 2009, Renzo Rosso, MMM’s majority stakeholder, was quoted as saying: “Martin has not been there for a long time. He is here but not here. We have a new fresh design team on board. We are focusing on young, realistic energy for the future; this is really Margiela for the year 2015.”

The exhibition will feature various iconic pieces from both the women’s and menswear collections, such as the highly replicated “Tabi” boots, as well as specially recreated garments for the exhibition.

via Maison Martin Margiela exhibition at Somerset House – Telegraph.

About these ads

Filed under: fashion, news, runway, shows, style   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: artistic concept, Diesel, fashion, Maison Martin Margiela, Renzo Rosso, Royal Academy