We take an exclusive look backstage at Maison Martin Margiela's S/S15 hybrid collection
“Go through your wardrobe, make do and mend,” was the wartime-inspired advice of Maison Martin Margiela for S/S15. It is a mantra that has been of the heart of the Maison since its launch in 1988, when it quickly became renowned for its artisanal approach to deconstructed and recycled fabrics. This season, hybrid pieces come in the form of pinstripe suiting and cotton alpaca against satin and spandex — “Shrunken knitted jumpers and suits long neglected by their husbands,” read the show notes. Dresses were cut with regimental asymmetry, with thigh-skimming hemlines in floating chiffon, tulle and lightweight silk.
However, no matter how light the fabric, Margiela collections always come weighted in thought. S/S15 offers a biographical and emotive view of hand-me-down clothing, inspired by a 1940s archive Japanese print. Margiela took traditional Japanese silhouettes and turned them on their head: a navy utility jacket freckled with Trompe-l'œil daisies, worn with “coat stand” bags and acetate goggles. These were ideas previously toyed with for the couture collection earlier this year, which featured opulent 50s silk, blunt cuts and embroidery. Although Martin Margiela left the notoriously mysterious fashion house in 2009, his conceptual codes continue to lead each collection, such as the nude bodysuit, which echoed Martin Margiela’s final A/W09 show, or the silk scarves he turned into skirts and dresses in the late nineties.
“Shrunken knitted jumpers and suits long neglected by their husbands” — Maison Martin Margiela
Japanese influences surfaced earlier this year during menswear (see Craig Green, Alexander McQueen), and have continued to leave a convincing stamp on womenswear too. Here, coinciding with the announcement of John Galliano as their new creative director, Maison Martin Margiela shares an exclusive backstage film with AnOther, capturing the details of the collection, from the intricate knots and belt-ties, to the soaking wet hair styled by Guido Palau, which clung to each model’s neck.
Text by Mhairi Graham
