Having free access to the Margiela archive is like receiving manna from the fashion heavens; you need very little to breathe new life into an MM6 collection. For spring, the design collective enjoyed a deep dive into the inventory, meticulously exploring stacks of contact sheets belonging to Marina Faust—the official photographer for all of Martin Margiela’s shows—in search of inspiration.
Their drive also came from a commitment to preserving the brand’s legacy and fashion pedigree for future generations. “We have no interest in sliding into the slippery slopes of becoming a streetwear brand or selling sneakers and skateboards just for marketing’s sake,” they stated. A touch of entitlement is understandable, given Margiela’s status as fashion with a capital F.
Creating a summer collection, they admitted, poses challenges for the MM6 team. “We wanted to design something that speaks to us and stays authentic to our identity, but as a Parisian-Belgian brand with a gloomy mood summer, it isn’t the most familiar season to work on. Gucci can pull it off so well, but for us?”
They revisited and reshuffled some of their repertoire’s best-ofs and history-making pieces from the archives, adapting them for the sweltering heat that now plagues our summers. They revived the DIY white dried-paint effect, which appeared on both men’s and women’s trousers and the ubiquitous cowboy boots, along with the humble supermarket shopping bag reimagined as a top. The well-known AIDS message T-shirt also made a return, designed to raise awareness; paired with shredded, tight-fitting jeans, it still managed to look relevant. Margiela’s signature concept of exposing a garment’s inner workings was also refreshed; here that included a paint stain on a top that hinted at the painting process and a protective flimsy foil layer, usually peeled off, left undone over a minidress.
Set atop gold high heels for women and flip-flops for men and featuring oversized suiting, slouchy denim, short shorts, and sleeveless zippered vests and blousons, often styled on bare skin, the collection felt straightforward and well curated. It offered variety without any trace of nostalgia—something Margiela himself would likely consider absolutely anathema.
