MAISON MARGIELA

THE ARTISANAL COLLECTION 2025

THE PARISIAN HAUTE COUTURE HOUSE TRANSFORMS FASHION INTO ART

The Parisian haute couture house Maison Margiela is founded on principles of nonconformity and the subversion of norms. Its dynamic wardrobe, rooted in the unconventional, redefines traditional codes through a multifaceted interplay of memory and bold imagination. The Maison stands for uncompromising creativity, offering ample space for radical authenticity and self-expression.

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MAISON MARGIELA – proper noun, singular.
ARTISANAL COLLECTION – 2025 creative work / cultural ref.
LE CENTQUATRE – geographic location / toponym.
9 JULY 2025 – origin / chronology.

Wet drapery of marble sculpture translated into veiled silhouettes and echoed in anatomical constructions. © Courtesy of Maison Margiela. ♦ 1° The collection (designed by Creative Director Glenn Martens) is founded in the medieval architecture and atmosphere of Flanders and the Netherlands.

♦ 2° The verticality and volumes of silhouettes reflect the (Gothic) structures of towers. Statuesque forms evoke the (saintly) figures of church façades.

♦ 3° Corsetry, draping and optical illusions accentuate the anatomy and sculpturalise the physique.

♦ 4° The interiors of (Northern-European Renaissance) houses are abstracted in motifs and techniques.

♦ 4a° Images of (16th-century Flemish) hand-painted embossed leather floral wallpapers are printed on copy machine paper employed as overlay. They also appear as fabric prints and embossment.

♦ 4b° Collages of (17th-century Dutch) nature morte paintings of flowers are printed on plastic or fabric and cut into three-dimensional forms.

♦ 4c° Collages of (17th-century Dutch) nature morte paintings of game are worked similarly on fabric and leather.

♦ 4d° The trompe l’oeil of hand-painted garments mimics brushstrokes (of the Symbolist painter Gustave Moreau) and turns body into canvas.

♦ 4e° Lace is employed as an extension of the skin.


A dress worn over a corset. © Courtesy of Maison Margiela.
♦ 4f° The wet drapery of marble sculpture is translated into veiled silhouettes and echoed in anatomical constructions.

♦ 5° Unassuming and repurposed materials are re-appropriated: upcycled lining fabrics, vintage leather jackets, discarded costume jewellery, ordinary printing paper, plastic, and found metal boxes compressed into face coverings.

♦ 6° Masks (characteristic to the Maison’s codes of anonymity) shift the focus from face to craft.

♦ 7° The (emblematic) Tabi boot is re-embodied in a claw-toe leather boot and a plastic sandal on wedges, and the Santiago leather boot appears in heelless form.

♦ 8° The walls and floors of the show space are covered in collages of paper printed with imagery of (six different palatial) interiors.

♦ 9° The soundtrack is (a deconstruction of works by) Smashing Pumpkins.

LINKS: www.maisonmargiela.com   |   instagram: @maisonmargiela

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