01FOR TWENTY YEARS, ONE OF FASHION'S BOLDEST DESIGNERS REFUSED TO BE
SEEN. MARTIN MARGIELA DID NOT POSE FOR PHOTOS, ANSWERED INTERVIEWS
BY FAX, AND LET HIS TEAM TAKE THE BOW IN WHITE COATS. THE CLOTHES
WERE THE FACE HE WANTED YOU TO SEE.
02HE TURNED FASHION INSIDE OUT, LITERALLY. FROM 1988, MARGIELA SHOWED
GARMENTS WITH EXPOSED SEAMS, RAW EDGES AND LININGS ON THE OUTSIDE,
AND REMADE OLD CLOTHES INTO NEW ONES. THEY CALLED IT DECONSTRUCTION.
HE CALLED IT HONESTY ABOUT HOW CLOTHES ARE MADE.
03HIS SIGNATURES HID IN PLAIN SIGHT. THE SPLIT-TOE 'TABI' BOOT,
UNSETTLING AND UNMISTAKABLE. THE BLANK WHITE LABEL, ATTACHED WITH
FOUR STITCHES YOU COULD SEE FROM OUTSIDE. NO LOGO, NO NAME, AND YET
INSTANTLY RECOGNISABLE TO ANYONE WHO KNEW.
04THE ANONYMITY WAS THE ART. IN AN INDUSTRY RUNNING ON PERSONALITY,
MARGIELA REMOVED HIMSELF ENTIRELY, AND MADE THE ABSENCE FASCINATING.
EVERY MISSING PHOTO AND FAXED ANSWER DEEPENED THE MYTH AROUND
THE MAN AND THE WORK.
05AND THE STAGING MATCHED. HE SHOWED IN METRO STATIONS AND EMPTY LOTS,
PAINTED VENUES WHITE, AND SENT OUT FLAT-PACK 'ARTISANAL' PIECES MADE
FROM FOUND MATERIALS. THE PRESENTATION WAS AS CONCEPTUAL AS THE
CLOTHES, AND ALWAYS QUIETLY RADICAL.
06THAT IS THE MARGIELA MYSTIQUE. HE LEFT HIS OWN HOUSE AROUND 2009,
STILL UNSEEN, AND THE MYTH GREW. HE PROVED THE STRONGEST BRAND
IN FASHION CAN BE A DESIGNER WHO REFUSES TO SELL HIS FACE, AND SELLS
JUST THE IDEA.